Halloween Day
by Mitsuki Horenake
Summary: A strange spell has turned everyone affected into the mindsets of their costumes, and war has broken out.  One side wants to stall until the time runs out and the spell ends.  The other wants a sacrifice for their "prophecy"...and they've chosen Rizal.
1. The Spell Begins

**This is the Halloween fanfic for the month…and despite how horrible it sounds, it's more of a parody than anything else. Why? Because IT HAS VOICE ACTOR JOKES. ****ENDLESS **_**JAPANESE VOICE ACTOR JOKES.**_** So suffer with me.**

**/=+=/**

"So tell me WHY I'm dressing up for Halloween this year?"

"Because I am too, kuya! Where's the harm in that?"

Rizal was about to say something when he stopped and rubbed his forehead. What a way to put in a subtle rhetoric question, Charice. He looked in the mirror and questioned just why he was actually agreeing to this. He was able to talk Charice out of greasing his hair to unimaginable heights, but then again he was forced to wear a chain around his damn neck and what looked like purple contacts.

"Ate."

"Yeah, kuya?"

"Why am I being Yugi Motou here?"

"Just because!"

_She's talking about the cape she's wearing, isn't she…?_ It had to be the one holding all the guns in her outfit…

"So, are you ready for tonight?" She chirped.

"…ready for trick-or-treating?" Rizal turned to her. "Are there houses here in America that actually _**like**_ giving candy to people past the age of puberty?"

"No no no! I'm talking about the Halloween Party down at the meeting hall!"

…

…

…

…

…

"_**NO."**_

"Awwww…why not, Rizal?"

"Cause god knows what's going to happen this year!" Rizal shook his head. "I mean, last year half of them got stuck in a haunted mansion and we had to pry them out what was left of their bloody corpses! I don't even want to know what the hell they're thinking up this year…"

"Hey, I was there too. The blood was annoying to say the least, and besides we all saw you cry over Lud-sama's body when you thought he was dead." That statement made Rizal blush while Charice cleaned the dirt off her jacket. "But this year, they're promising that they're going to stay in the meeting hall."

"…even to sleep?"

"There're rumors about that."

"Oh, _**great.**__**"**_ Rizal slapped his forehead. "Fine, but be careful of the punch this year. If it's made by Arthur-"

"_**All right,**_ all right…I won't go ahead and see if it's flammable."

"Thank you."

"…I was right, you know."

"_**Shut up."**_

**/=+=/**

The two of them walked through the dark hallways of the city toward the meeting hall, Rizal making sure that Charice didn't start dashing toward houses to start hording candy for herself. Knowing her, she probably would have…which is utterly terrifying.

"What do you think the others are going to look like?"

"Hm?"

"Their costumes. They're ones to be creative, you know!"

"…they're probably going to dress up as cowboys or witches and Ivan's going to try becoming one with all of them…can we just go home now?"

"But I wanna see _**Feli-chaaaan~!**_ He's probably something really cute!"

"_Oh geez…_he's always cute!"

"_**BUT I WANNA SEE HIM IN A CUTE OUTFIT!"**_

"And the time where you and Elizabeta dragged him off and forced him to go to a meeting in a French maid's outfit?"

"Lud-sama was sitting in front of me the whole time…"

"_And with good reason…" _Rizal sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Can we go home now?"

"Don't tell me that your contacts are itching now!"

"…can I please take them off?"

"No way! You look nice with purple eyes!"

_God, why me?_

They saw the meeting hall in the horizon, and Rizal sighed with relief. The building still seemed to be standing, which meant that either everyone wasn't there yet or they were actually not trying to kill people. Before he could think of anything else, the ground began to rumble. He looked up and saw as a huge beam of light struck out of the sky and spread itself all over the building, shooting out in a radius around the city. Charice clung onto Rizal for a few minutes as he shielded himself from the bright lights, lowering them only when the lights faded. She looked up.

"Wha…? What the hell was _**that?**__**"**_

"…that is why I didn't want to go." Rizal blinked for a few minutes before sighing again. "Something extremely stupid happened."

"No duh, kuya! What makes you say that?"

"My contacts stopped itching. In fact, I think they were blown off."

"No they're not. You still have them on!" She stared. "Wait a minute, your pupils are dilated…you don't see dilation when someone's wearing contacts!"

"…yep, something's wrong." Rizal sighed. _And this is why I wanted to stay home…_

**/=+=/**

They both quickly dashed toward the meeting hall with speeds they didn't even know they could reach. What surprised Rizal was that Charice was running faster than he was. He didn't even think it was possible. She seemed to notice this and stopped.

"What's wrong with you?" She asked. "You're always in front of me!"

"I dunno…I feel out of breath for some reason." Rizal rubbed his chest. "It's like my lungs shrank or something…"

"…were you accepting stuff from Espen again?"

"_**No.**_ I don't smoke!" He responded. "And I only drink when I have to."

"…which is…?"

"_You don't want to know…"_

Charice blinked for a few minutes before running ahead again, forcing Rizal to try and catch up. His lungs really were burning at this point, and he was running at least half his normal speed. It was strange…almost as if he was-

"Ah~! Charice~!"

They both paused for a few minutes before seeing a figure standing in front of them. They tensed before realizing that it was obviously Feliciano, wearing what looked like sorcerer garbs and wielding a large staff in his hand. Rizal sighed.

_Geez, when did I start getting so tense?_ Rizal rubbed his forehead. "Yo."

"Did you see that really bright light, Feli-chan?" Charice called to him. "Are you two all right?"

"Yeah, we're all right! I'm glad you're OK, Charice!" Feliciano called back to them. "And I'm glad that Rizal is fine too!"

"Thanks for the concern." Rizal stated _(nonsarcastically, either)_. "Did anything happen to you in there?"

"No, not really!" Feliciano stated. "But we were told something really horrible!"

"God, what was it?" Charice asked.

"That the world is going to end at midnight tonight!"

"_**THE **__**FUUUUUUUU-?**__**"**_ Charice held her head. "What the hell is that about?"

"I dunno, but they said that the only way to make that prophecy to come true is to have a sacrifice~!"

_Wait, he __wants__ the prophecy to come true…?_ Rizal blinked.

"A…sacrifice?" Charice blinked.

"Yes, a sacrifice!" Feliciano folded his arms behind his head. "And we already chose who it was going to be~!"

Five milliseconds later, a figure dropped out of the sky and nearly split them in half. Rizal paused before seeing a figure in Indian garb slashing toward him with the tips of his fingers, barely dodging all of them. It was if his senses were greatly reduced…

"Not bad~!" Feliciano clapped his hands. "Ludwig~!"

The figure stopped and jumped backward, revealing that it was indeed the German in Indian robes…complete with the dot and everything. In normal circumstances, Charice would probably be laughing at this point. But seeing as the circumstances aren't going to do that this time…

"Rizal…your blood is going to shine brightly at the full moon."

_And now I __really__ want to go home._

**/=+=/**

**In case you didn't know, "Espen" is the Netherlands.**

**Rizal's Japanese VA **_**(in my mind)**_** is ****Shumsuke Kazama****. He's only done two voices, and that is Yugi Motou and his alter ego. He's better known for being in Japanese dramas and is a rather famous singer.**

**Before, I was under the belief that Charice's VA would be ****Maki Saito****, but now I see her more as a ****Hiromi Tsuru****. She's the Japanese VA for Meryl Stryfe in ****Trigun****. The real joke is going to come up next chapter, relax.**

**Italy Veneziano's Japanese VA is ****Daisuke Namikawa****. The voice he did that was similar to his act was Fai D. Flourite in ****Tsubasa Chronicles.**** And he was just as cute…no wait, Italy is cuter. Or was it Romano? **_**GAAAAAH!**_

**Germany's Japanese VA is ****Hiroki Yasumoto****. He's done a couple of roles **_**(though much less than Namikawa-san)**_**, but I put him for being Agni from ****Kuroshitsuji**_**(Black Butler)**_** just because the English VA **_**(Patrick Seitz)**_** did those two roles as well…with the same damn voice. I couldn't take the series seriously anymore. DAMN YOU FUNIMATION!**

**Relax, this gets funnier in due time.**


	2. Off With His Head!

**Don't we all love the unpredictability that is Halloween? Totally. I mean, totally.**

**/=+=/**

"…what?"

"Don't worry, Charice. We won't harm you. I'll make sure of that!" Feliciano waved to her. "So be a good girl and let us have him!"

"_**Are you fucking **__**nuts?**_ That's my brother you're talking about!" Charice crouched down. "I'm not letting you get to hi-"

"Charice, hold up. You're not fighting Feliciano here."

"Eh?"

They watched as Rizal started rolling up his yo-yo with the same deadly accuracy that he was known for. He was grateful for that, for he was going to need all the help he can muster…especially if his enemy is a nation with all his powers intact…and more.

"I can handle them."

"But your stamina is that of a human now!" Charice stated. "Look, I still have my nation status together! I can get them!"

"Please. Even with that, you have _**no**_ idea what to expect with Ludwig."

Charice was about to pout and say that it was just his admiration for the guy stating itself when she felt the ground shake. She turned her head and saw as Ludwig pulled out a fencing sword and lunged at near unimaginable speeds. Rizal was barely able to dodge that attack, but felt blood spur out of his cheek. He turned his head and saw a blur as the blade dug into his side. He barely heard his sister scream in shock as he staggered away.

_Sheesh…is that what humans see us as when we face them on the battlefield?_ No wonder his only opponents are other nations…

"If you know what's best for you and your sister, you'll come quietly." Ludwig stated.

"Please. I've been told that a thousand times from nations such as yourself, and I came out perfectly fine thank you very much." He spat. It felt weird saying it to a nation. Must be his newly shaped human genes talking. "You yourself know exactly what my answer is."

"Unfortunately, I do…and you're in no shape to use that answer."

"I know…then again, when was I ever in shape to do anything?"

That remark made Ludwig lunge forward in retaliation, this time Rizal knew what to expect. While his ability to move quickly was hampered, his sixth sense seemed heightened. He could see the moves before they happened, and acted within his limits. He grinned when he saw the look of frustration on his face. The old Rizal, albeit hampered, was back. Charice seemed to take notice of that, for she was cheering the whole time. The others didn't seem that happy.

"He's resisting, sir." Ludwig turned to Feliciano.

"Hm…well, he's bound to tire out one of these days…" Feliciano blinked. "I should be able to handle him."

"All right then."

They switched places as Rizal noticed that Feliciano was smiling the entire time. He stepped lightly in front of them before in a flash he was right in front of his face. Rizal froze as he felt a knee dig into him and he was sent hurdling in the air. Instinct kicked in and he found himself throwing a yo-yo which dug straight into Feliciano's side. He was sent hurdling down the area as the Filipino landed with a chuckle.

"Is that all you got?" He laughed. "Are you saying that a human such as myself can take down two powerful nations?"

"How about three then?"

He heard a scream as he turned his head and saw that Antonio was there, wearing a strange general's outfit and was holding Charice at knifepoint. She was flailing to get away from him, but he knew that she couldn't get out of she tried. All his nerves tensed.

"…Antonio."

"You should know the drill: come with us and we'll let her go." He grinned, tightening his grip. "Unless you don't care."

"Antonio, _**no!**_ We're only supposed to go after Rizal!" He heard Feliciano scream. "Let her go, she has nothing to do with this!"

"We're going after Rizal, of course. But that doesn't mean not to explore all your options!" Antonio yelled back. "So what's it going to be?"

"…how about screw you?"

Antonio was about to react when Charice kicked him in the shins and shoved him away. He was about to attack when she opened her cape, revealing thousands of pistols on a rather long belt. She grabbed two and shot him away, then going ahead to aim toward Ludwig. Feliciano seemed happy that she was fine. Rizal was a different story.

"…when the hell did you have bullets in those guns?"

"I didn't! These were from the toy store down the street!" She stated. "The spell must've made them real or something!"

"_That's just what we need now…fantastic…"_

So there they were, two against three, the latter having the majority of their powers. Rizal rolled around his yo-yo, thinking up a plan, when he heard something scream a few feet away. He pushed Charice out of the way as a huge line of waves went through them, blowing up in front of Ludwig. They turned their head and saw Alfred in a rather…strange outfit. With two swords in his hand. _Oh, this can't be good._

"Hey everyone! It's the hero to save the day!"

"_**Took your time, you bastard!"**_ Charice screamed. "What is up with you never showing up when we need you?"

"It's a hero's duty to come at the nick of time!"

"_**Well then **__**SCREW THE HERO'S DUTY!**__**"**_

Rizal stared at him for a few minutes. Despite the others, Alfred seemed to be perfectly normal. If normal means that he can now wield two swords and have glowing red eyes- wait, what? Since when did he inherit his War-Torn state? Were they after his blood too?

"**We should stop arguing now…"** He grinned. **"We have to get you out of here."**

"OK…where?"

"**You'll know where."** He pointed a sword at the three of them. **"We win now, and I'm taking the prize."**

"Ah, Alfred…you have no idea what you're up against."

"Actually, I think I do!"

Rizal stared at him as Alfred started laughing and another gunshot rang out in the air. He looked around and saw that there was someone on the rooftops holding a gun and wearing another shining red jacket _(what is up with red these days?)_. Upon closer examination, he was utterly shocked to see that it was…Francis, out of all people. With a serious look on his face. Charice couldn't believe it.

"That…_**can't**_ be who I think it is."

"It is! He got affected with the spell too, but he's on our side!" Alfred grabbed Charice's arm. "Come on! Before he stops!"

"Stops _**what?**__**"**_

Before their eyes, they saw that Francis was engaged with a three-to-one battle…and winning. Rizal decided that he wasn't going to take any chances and headed with Alfred toward the meeting hall. His lungs were almost nonexistent at this point, but Alfred seemed to catch wind of this and slowed down to his speed.

"Don't tell me that you're after my blood too." He spat.

"No, I'm not! No one on my side is! We want you alive past midnight, when the spell ends!" Alfred winked. "I'll let Iggy explain everything when we get back."

"Well then, what the heck is going on right now? What's with the spells?" Charice spat. "And why in the world is everyone going after Rizal?"

"Iggy knows, man!"

"And how come you haven't been warped?" Rizal looked up. "Everyone's personalities have been altered…even Francis, and that's only if he's on our side!"

"I don't know! I think that other part of me is part of the spell, though…but I, the real me, have come out perfectly fine!"

_That's…good to hear for now._ Rizal shook his head. "Just get us to whoever can break this down for us."

"Can do!"

**/=+=/**

**Spain's Japanese VA is ****Go Inoue****. Odd enough, he's kind of on the same level as his English VA Dave Trosko because they both haven't done too many roles. I opted for a ****Tales of the Abyss**** soldier because he did do a supporting character and…it's Tales of the **_**freaking**_** Abyss!**

**America's Japanese VA is ****Katsuyuki Konishi****. He's probably just as well-known as Daisuke Namikawa-san **_**(I guess?)**_**, and I opted for him to do the Lloyd Irving outfit for the sake of my ****Tales**** roots. However, you're going to see a bit of Demon Eyes Kyo from ****Samurai Deeper Kyo.**** Don't know what that series is? It's dubbed by DAN GREEN. Can you imagine it? **_**DAN GREEN**_** dubbing **_**AMERICA'S VA.**_

**France's Japanese VA is ****Masaya Onosaka****. A lot of roles I've seen him in were of the seductive type **_**(not surprising)**_** and I was planning on him to be Zelos for a ****Tales of Symphonia**** mix-up with America, but the minute I read "Vash the Stampede" I remember bleeding out of my ears. I can no longer take that series seriously.**

**This series will last as long as October is here. So expect this story to be done by the end of the month!**


	3. Into the Meeting Hall

**So this is the big explanation episode, hope you understand and enjoy it!**

**/=+=/**

It felt like forever until they found themselves at the meeting hall. Rizal looked up and realized that it looked more majestic now then the last time he came here at the same time. He figured that it must've been because the spell had affected the landscape as well as the people in it.

"So this is HQ, then?" Charice laughed. "Majestic!"

"Indeed it is!" Alfred laughed as well. "We usually stay here for operations and stuff."

"_You make it sound like this has been happening for years…"_ Rizal shivered.

"Eh? Oh, sorry about that! That was the 'other me' talking!" He sighed, waving his hand. "Unlike the others, I stayed partially intact. I usually act like my costume sometimes, so you have to mind me."

"Well, as long as you're not trying to kill anyone I can tolerate." Charice pointed out. "Besides-"

"Ah~! You got him here!"

Rizal was about to say something when a figure jumped out of the shadows, immediately identifying it to be Ivan. Charice screamed as the Russian stood up, wearing what looked like tight spandex _(…the fuuuu-?)_ before he proceed to…chew…on Rizal's…arm…

OK, what?

"_**Owwwwww! Ivan, what the hell is wrong with you?**_

"_**WHAT THE HELL HE'S EATING KUYA'S ARM!"**_

"Ivan, stop that! He doesn't know yet!" Alfred shook his sword around. "Look, you're scaring him!"

"…oh, sorry."

Ivan let go, revealing a rather deep flesh wound where Ivan ate him. He pushed the Filipino in the building where they saw _(with surprise)_ that the building started to glow around the wound and fixed it to near perfection. Rizal moved his arm with the same motion as before as he turned to Alfred with shock.

"It's a weird thing with this building…it seems to reverse any damage done by the people inside it." He stated. "Iggy must've made it into a safe haven after what he did."

"…_at least he did something right…"_ Rizal muttered.

"_Especially this is totally his fault."_ Charice stated.

"_Completely his fault."_ Alfred added.

"_Most likely his fault."_ Ivan laughed.

"…yeah, most definitely."

"_**I can hear you from where I am. Don't think I'm not listening."**_

"…oh, it's Iggy."

"_**Don't call me that. I can't tolerate you saying that even if I'm not the same Arthur that you know."**_

"There's…" Rizal turned his head. "There's a voice coming out of the walls."

"…that's creepy." Charice blinked. "That is most definitely creepy- **OH DEAR GOD**** IT'S A SNAKE!"**

Rizal blinked as he heard a thud and a huge snake dropped out of the rooftop and right in front of them. But instead of actually trying to kill him, the snake instead slithered toward the Filipino and stared deep into his eyes. He decided it was best to do so, for like Alfred said, he wasn't going to get killed here. Not in this building, of course.

"What do you want?"

"_**We need to talk, that's what. You're going to find me further in the building. Follow my assistant. He knows the way."**_

Rizal blinked before seeing the snake slither down to a man who didn't look too happy, wearing punk clothes and what seemed to be an awesome _(yet strangely temporary)_ tattoo. What shocked him more was the realization that it was Magnus talking to them. He turned around.

"All right, follow me."

**/=+=/**

The two siblings kept close to each other as they headed further down into the building. A few people were there and were staring at the Filipinos as they passed by, but only Rizal got the true shivers out of them. There was a good chance that many of them still kept their national powers, and if any of them decided to jump then Rizal was as good as gone…

"None of them will attack. All the people here are on our side. They at least remember their real selves and as such act accordingly." Alfred pointed out. "You'll be fine, Rizal~!"

"…sure…"

"Actually, I've been meaning to ask you that." Charice turned to him, walking backwards. "What do you mean by _**'real selves'**_ and _**'other me'**_ and words like that?"

"Well, I'm not really sure myself…but from what I can gather-"

"_Which isn't much…"_

"Shut up Rizal…anyway, from what I can gather our real personalities had been suppressed by Iggy's spells and replaced by new ones…ones that seem to fit whatever the heck we were wearing at the time." Alfred stretched out his clothing. "For me, it's this rather cool superhero with two swords!"

"Does that superhero involve having a different voice and threatening to stab people's eyes out?"

"Oh, that part…yeah, I don't know what that is. I figured it was a side effect to keeping myself intact!"

_Great, I'm with a dumbass…who's dumber than before. _Charice wanted to cry.

"Are there anyone else like you?" Rizal asked.

"Not that I know of…well, except you two, but that's probably because you weren't in the building." Alfred shrugged. "After everyone turned, whoever was completely suppressed fled the building in confusion...how they ended up with what they are now is beyond what I can comprehend."

_Then…why in the world did they start targeting __me?__ What did I do?_

"Hey, guys." Magnus looked up. "We're here."

**/=+=/**

**Russia's Japanese VA is ****Yasuhiro Takato****. None of the roles I read sounded like any I knew **_**(god forbid I decide that he becomes a Digimon or that white cat from Sailor Moon O-O)**_** except for Gluttony in ****Fullmetal Alchemist****. He only did the first adaptation, so don't get any ideas that he came back or anything.**

**Denmark's **_**(Magnus)**_** Japanese VA is ****Hiroshi Shimozaki****. Again, he was one of the VAs who did many supporting roles but never a major role, so I almost opted to cut him out. The only major role he had played was this guy named Kobayashi in ****The Asylum Session****. So here's your Denmark cameo. If I find out anything else, I'll give him a bigger role.**

**Iggy-kun comes in the next chappie~!**


	4. Meeting the Head of the First Side

**So this is your Iggy-chan into your chapter~!**

**/=+=/**

When Rizal opened the meeting hall door, he saw that there was no one in there except for a dark room and the snake who decided that getting in there was a good idea. He walked in as he saw Magnus inch out of the door before hearing the door close behind him, much to Charice's shock. He ran to the door and pounded on it.

"Hey! Ate! _**Ate!"**_

"_I'm fine, I'm fine!"_ She called from the other side. _"The door is just __locked!__"_

"The hell…?" Rizal turned his head. "Who's there?"

"_**I thought I told you…it's just me."**_

He turned completely and saw as Arthur came from the shadows, wearing a bright white outfit and seeing the snake slither to his side. The power radiating from him was immense, more than what he originally had before. He did look a little creepy, and he assumed that's why Charice wasn't allowed into the room. The Englishman merely let the snake slither into the darkness, where he could no longer hear it move.

"What do you want?" Rizal tensed.

"I only wanted to talk to you." He answered. _**"Only**_ you."

"…all right." He folded his arms. "About what?"

"You know exactly what we're going to talk about."

"…why those people out there are trying to kill me?"

"Exactly."

"They said this all started when you were casting spells."

"Yes, that's true. However, I was only using light bombs. They were done merely to startle, not to hurt or even alter anyone's psyche. How it ended up affecting all of us is beyond me." He sighed. "Unfortunately, I lost my magic in that spell and hence I am limited to only what I have now."

"That doesn't sound promising."

"No, it's not. For some reason, they think that they have to sacrifice you to end the world." He stated. "But that's not the only problem."

"What?"

"…everyone here believes that as well."

"Are you-?" Rizal stepped forward. "Are you seriously saying that you guys are going to kill me? Here I thought it was otherwise!"

"We're not going to act upon it, baka. It's one of the things enforced on us along with the spell." Arthur answered. "For some reason, it's telling us that we were created to destroy the world and that you are the key to letting it happen."

"…why me, though?"

"From what I remember, it's because you were mentioned right before the spell was cast."

"That's it?" Rizal sighed. "From a single mention, I'm now on everyone's hit list?"

"You can blame Ludwig for that. He was the one who mentioned you. Something about you getting lost or something."

Rizal couldn't help but blush at that statement.

"Of course, those of us who stay here had their memory at least partially intact, telling us the truth of who we really are and our purpose on this world." Arthur turned to Rizal. "State your full name, and I don't mean your human title."

"Pines Luzon, ang panloob na mga isla at ang kabisera ng lungsod ng Republika ng Pilipinas. I am the Inner Islands and the Capital City of the Republic of the Philippines."

"You can still speak your language. Many of us lost that ability."

"Well, that just sucks for you."

"But you're the one that lost your national status, right? That means that you're the only one here that can actually die tonight."

"…that's a threat I've heard way too much."

"Don't pull that crap over our heads. We all know that you're scared of that realization. Back then you had the power to fend them off. However, no human can stand up against a nation and succeed."

_I can name a few, thank you very much._

"Still, even if you do die nothing will happen and the spell will stop at midnight. All we here need to do now is keep you alive until everyone comes back to normal. That's going to be impossible with what you are now." Arthur stated. "Fortunately, I happen to know what form you took today."

"The hell do you mean by that?"

"The costume that you have on now is of a boy who is just as human as you are now, but with extraordinary powers centered upon one thing…which I happen to have with me." He reached into his pocket. "Granted, I stole this from Kiku when he left, so I'm sure that this is good enough to keep you through the night."

He pulled it out of his pocket and handed it to Rizal, who took it rather sheepishly. The Filipino looked down and realized that…

"…it's a deck of cards."

"Look closer."

"…it's a deck of cards for a trading card game." Rizal stared at him. _**"Really?"**_

"That's your power."

"…I'm a nerd."

"You'll understand soon enough."

Rizal took that with a rock of salt and decided that he knew enough and he should tell his sister everything. He waved quietly to the Englishman and took the doorknob, surprised that he was able to open the door _(since it was locked the first time he came in)_. Rizal turned back to a blank faced Arthur before heading out of the door and seeing…

"Ah, you're all right, Charice. I'm so glad that I was successful in protecting you and your brother…"

"Uh…sure."

"It's all right, it's all right! Perhaps it was destiny that I was able to find you at that moment and when you needed my help, we've been seeing each other so many times-"

"_**DENIED!"**_

_***Pow***_

"Geez, I can't tell if I was talking to the real you or the other part! They're too damn similar!"

"That's definitely the real Francis." Rizal pointed out.

"_**Bull crap!**_ I've seen his character! He acts exactly like that, but not as perverted!" Charice stood up. "And the weird thing? He wasn't even looking at my butt the entire time!"

"…wow, that's…**definitely** the other half then."

"God, not even _**you**_ can figure out what's what! This is getting too confusing! Someone please figure this out!"

"…well, you know I can't."

"Then who can? Geez, this is more mindboggling than the time I saw Ludwig in a mini-skirt!"

"…what?"

"…long, long story."

"_**Oh, Charice? Thank god that they found you."**_

"Yeah…yeah, they found me perfectly all righ- **JESUS MARY ON EARTH **_**THERE'S A SUIT OF ARMOR TALKING TO MEEEEE!**__**"**_

Rizal looked up and saw as a suit of armor started coming toward them and started moving as if it was an ordinary human being. Charice didn't seem to take it well, panicking and hiding behind her brother as if it was the craziest thing she had ever seen in her life. Meanwhile, he was able to put two and two together.

"…Erika?"

"_**You remember me? That's good. I was worried it would be otherwise!"**_

"Well, it's pretty obvious concerning that I can tell from your voice…"

"Eh? Eri-chan?" Charice glomped her. "Noooo, you've been changed too! **Waaaaah!"**

"_**I-it's fine, Charice!"**_ She hugged her back. _**"I remember everything, so I'm still the same Erika you know!"**_

"Yeah, but…you're not soft anymore! I swear, I'm going to hurt Iggy-chan once you turn back to normal! You're supposed to be the cute Eri-chan I know and love~!"

"_**Ah…it's all right, it's all right. Me and my brother are both all right."**_

"I know…but still…"

"Hey. Erika. Are you watching people again?"

Rizal looked up and saw that Vash was heading toward them, wearing a bright red jacket and a black outfit underneath it. He didn't look mad _(as he usually would be)_; instead he looked a little surprised of his sister _(now this entire block of sculpted iron)_ who was being interested with his sister, especially since it was usually the other way around.

"No, I was just noticing that your sister was changed too." Charice leaned forward. "We're fine-?"

"…what?" Vash folded his arms. "What's wrong?"

"…did you shrink or something? You look smaller than usual."

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

"**Are you calling me short?"**

"Eh? No, I'm just saying that- _**GAH!"**_

"_**I AM **__**NOT**__** SHORT! **_**I'm just a holder of bad genetics! Blame my damn father for this! He's was too short for his own good!"**

"_**WAAAAAAAAAHHHH I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M **__**SORRRRRYYYY!**__** I WAS JUST BEING OBSERVANT, I DIDN'T MEAN THAT IT WAS GOING TO BE AN INSULT! I'M NOT GOING TO SAY IT ANY MORE, I SWEAR, I SWEAR! **__**I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRRRYYYY!**__**"**_

"…uh…"

"_**R-Rizal…"**_ Erika turned to him. _**"S-should we stop him?"**_

"She deserved it. Let them be."

"_**Oh **__**thanks**__**, kuya-aaaaaAAAAAAHHHHH!"**_

**/=+=/**

**England's Japanese VA is ****Noriaki Sugiyama****. He's basically the Yuri Lowenthal of Japan, being the voice of Uryu, Sasuke and Kento from ****Code Geass****. I opted for an Uryu + Sasuke fusion. That just makes the tsundere a freaking **_**badass**_** tsundere. Ain't that awesome.**

**Liechtenstein's **_**(Erika)**_** Japanese VA is ****Rie Kugimiya****. She's done a few roles both in the main seat and supporting roles, but the big one is being Alphonse Elric in ****Fullmetal Alchemist.**** It was either that or I make her into a Celebi…and this one is just funnier that way. And besides, it makes everything more reasonable.**

**Switzerland's Japanese VA is ****Romi Park****. I thought about using her role as Temari from ****Naruto****, but instead I opted for her other important role: Edward Elric from ****Fullmetal Alchemist.**** You probably noticed why I did that XD**


	5. Allies to the Cause

**Filler time~!**

**/=+=/**

Charice barely had her balance back as Rizal led her toward the lunch room, where the others were waiting to meet them. He barely noticed Peter swinging a toy hammer around that almost electrocuted poor Francis _("he freaking deserved it", Charice spat)_. Rizal sighed and sat down quietly. At least he would've…if Charice wasn't egging Peter on with the fire spells.

"…please stop saying that."

"Why? Damn Francis deserves this!"

_God someone get me out of here…_

Rizal decided to stand up and walk away as Charice began taking his pain into her own hands. The Filipino gave up and headed away from his seat, wondering who else their allies supposedly were. There was Alfred, Ivan, Francis, Erika, Vash, Magnus, Peter _(I guess…?)_ and Arthur. Compared to that group, Feliciano, Ludwig and Antonio were on the other side.

_Taking into account that everyone came to the UN meeting, the group we have here is surprisingly small._ Rizal sighed. _I have…a lot on my hands._

"I'm glad we are able to find you."

Rizal turned around and saw Wang Yao walking toward him, wearing an outfit similar to what he would usually wear…except it was a bright blue instead of the usual red that he was prone to wearing. Plus, he seemed to be lacking a panda bear on his back. The poor boy couldn't help but continue looking.

"You're not going to find what you're looking for."

"…I'm just wondering." He stated. "You do look a lot like your real self, Yao."

"I prefer you use the name of my other self, if you don't mind. It…makes everything a little less awkward."

"…sure." Rizal cocked an eyebrow. "W-what's your other name?"

"Kurapika."

"…Kura…pika."

"That's my name."

"…all right…Kurapika." He pointed to Charice. "Why don't you tell my sister that?"

"I'll be most happy to."

_Alllll right then._

Rizal took a breath and continued on, not even thinking about it. Halfway through walking aimlessly around the room, he saw _(with a gigantic sigh of relief)_ Natalya as she was sharpening her knives and loading up all her guns with any type of Russian guns she had. He had to flinch because of that, but when they made eye contact she just nodded at him and turned back to the guns. He sighed.

_That's good._ Now he knew why Belarus is scary.

He was about to say something when he felt a cold chill down his back. He turned his head around and realized that there was no one behind him. The chill came back to him as he darted his head around again. Rizal's nerves started to tense immediately. Who was around him at a time like this…?

"You must've met him already."

Rizal turned his head in confusion and saw Lukas as he gave Natalya an empty shotgun and fixed a pickaxe at his belt. He really wished that his yo-yo and whatever power Arthur said he had was actually going to work against anything that might…oh, I don't know, try and kill him?

"Met who?"

"Matthew."

"Matthew?" That was strange. He was usually one of the few who could see him at first glance _(he had to after Charice took an interest)_.

"Yeah, the ghost of the building." Lukas stated. "I can't see him, but from what I can hear he's been haunting this building for eons."

_Maybe that's just bad lighting?_ Rizal wanted to strangle Arthur later. "How'd he die?"

"War, perhaps." Lukas sighed. "If only I had the ability to see spirits like I used to…"

"Well, I'm not affected so I think I can still see him if I try."

"Go ahead and do that. He would be a great asset if we can get him on our side."

_If he's not a spy of the other side, I'm sure that's going to happen._ Now if only Rizal was right about this…

**/=+=/**

He didn't really believe in the rituals that most people would use to try and summon a spirit. Many believe that an Ouija Board or even a dark room with some lit candles is going to bring them out _(though the dark room does help in viewing the ghost)_. While that would usually bring them out, it would usually be temporary. The real method to bring them out is having a certain emotion on the consciousness. It doesn't even have to be the greatest one; back of the mind works just as well. The ghosts usually feed off that to physically manifest themselves in front of people.

Of course, this method doesn't work well with normal humans because they have a limited amount of energy to feed off of. Actual shamans are a little better because they can redirect energy from the air for the ghost to feed off of. Rizal might be able to bring him out by country energy alone, if his stamina isn't completely compromised to a miniscule amount…

He sighed as he closed his eyes and focused. If this was indeed Matthew in any sense at all, loneliness is the best emotion to have. He remembered that cold cell under Japanese rule that he was forced to be in; how Japan forced him into pure submission; how the days passed like years…

_[It's almost as if you know how to summon ghosts.]_

He turned his head and saw as Matthew materialized out of nowhere, bearing a samurai robe and katana- okay, are these costumes getting a little strange or is it just me?

"I've had some practice. Arthur usually needs people." Rizal answered. "Doing well, Matthew."

_[If you can call what I have become 'well', then perhaps I am.]_

"No need for formality. We're on friendly terms, remember?"

_[Barely. I must admit that out of everyone here, my memory hasn't completely come back.]_

"Oh…well, do you know who I am?"

_[You are Rizal, the man everyone is talking about.]_

"Anything before that?"

_[You have a sister who loves me.]_

"Obsessed, get it right."

_[Of course. And you're the one that usually saves me from her.]_

"You remember enough." Rizal laughed. "And here I was worried that you were a spy."

_[I would be an efficient one if someone can see me.]_

"Arthur?"

_[He's in his ninja phase. He can't see me in that.]_

"Oh." This is getting weird. "Well, I can see you."

_[Just barely. You're getting tired.]_

"Eh?"

Then he knew what he was talking about. He was used to ragged breathing, so much that he didn't even notice that his was getting extremely heavy. Matthew took that as a sign and backed up, alerting him to what he was doing.

_[You should rest. I will be around, so all you have to do is call me.]_

"…same method?"

_[Same method.]_

Matthew faded, leaving the Filipino sitting down on the ground trying to catch his breath. He wondered if he could get other people for Matthew to materialize with, but then again he had no idea how to do that. He was going to have to do this on his own again next time.

"Kuya? Were you talking to someone?"

He turned his head to see his sister walking toward him in confusion. She had some scratches around _(probably from confronting Vash)_ but nothing he was going to be worried about. He stood up and tried to hide the aching joints.

"I saw Matthew. Apparently he's an actual ghost."

"Well, that just _**SUCKS.**__**"**_

"He does remember you, though."

"Really?"

"He knows you as the obsessed girl."

"…great."

"Just saying."

"Whatever. Anyway, Arthur's rounding everyone up in the lunch room for a small conference. And by everyone, he means us too."

"All right, all right. I'm coming."

**/=+=/**

**Sealand's Japanese VA is ****Ai Orikasa****. She's done a couple of roles, more than the others. But the one I really know is being Genis Sage from ****Tales of Symphonia****. As such, he and Alfred are best of friends~**

**China's Japanese VA is ****Yuki Kaida****. She had done a lot of minor roles as well as some major ones, but the one I made him is Kurapika from ****Hunter x Hunter.**** It's a really good plot if you think about it, and plus it's China with red eyes~!**

**Belarus's Japanese VA is ****Urara Takano****. She has done many roles, while some of them are a little small. This time, she's Maria Tachibana from ****Sakura Wars****, for the sheer reason that Maria is a veteran of the Russian Revolution. And that is the only reason, past the fact that she's practically Belarus without the stalker syndrome.**

**Norway's **_**(Lukas)**_** Japanese VA is ****Masami Iwasaki****, a guy who wavers between the major roles and the backstage people. Then again, I chose him to be Iemitsu Sawada from ****Katekyo Hitman Reborn****, just because the bastard owns a pickaxe and a gun. What more do you want?**

**Canada shares the same VA as America: ****Katsuyuki Konishi****. I have to admit: Amidamaru from ****Shaman King**** fits him surprisingly well…more than trying to sneak in a Snorlax joke. Seriously, this guy voices Snorlax. What, you wanted me to put in a Delibird joke too? You people are horrible! BEGONE!**

…

**NO WAIT, COME BACK! I NEED MORE VIEWERS AND REVIEWS!**


	6. In Half an Hour

**Yaaay, I didn't lose the majority of my readers~! I'm glad you decided to stick around!**

**/=+=/**

The room was surprisingly small once everyone got into the meeting hall. Rizal could only sigh as he sat down next to Natalya, who wasn't even around her brother at the time. She was either scared of being eaten or she wasn't actually obsessing over him for once. He was going to have to enjoy these hours, at least Ivan knows to…hopefully.

"Where's Arthur?" Charice looked around. "He was the one who wanted everyone here!"

"Iggy's probably don't some 'prepping' or something like that." Alfred laughed. "That's how all British people are, right?"

"Correction, that's how all _**women**_ are like." Charice stated.

"…you don't prep."

"_**There's nothing to prep, **_**Magnus. Shut up…"**

"…geez." Rizal blinked. "Then why don't you prep?"

"Because…I like going natural."

"…you're crazy."

"Nice to know, kuya."

"No, really. You are."

She decided to drop the subject, instead watching Alfred and Peter talking to each other like they were best friends since forever _(really? They never talked past now…)_ as the rest of them waited quietly for any sign of Arthur to show up. During the wait, Natalya was shown to be distributing the guns around…fantastic.

"Sorry for being late."

A flash of smoke swarmed into the room, making Charice scream bloody murder and jump back. Rizal turned his head and saw with blank surprise as Arthur came from the smoke, brushing his hair away as if this was a normal occurrence. Damn the ninja…

"I was doing one more check of the boundaries before I came here." He stated. "There are no signs of movement."

"They know not to. Rizal's safe here as long as the house heals all the wounds." Magnus sighed. "Coming in here is a stupid move."

"Remember, they can come in and take him out just as easily as he came in. That's what I'm here to talk about." Arthur turned to Rizal. "We already have our first objective met: get him into the safety building. With that out of the way, at least no one from the outside can hurt him."

"So…what's the second objective?" Rizal turned his head.

"Duh! Keep you here until midnight!" Peter laughed. "What's the point of putting you in here if we're just going to kick you out afterwards?"

"…uh…" He couldn't help but turn to Ivan for that statement.

"So…what? We're done now?" Charice leaned forward. "We're just going to wait here until midnight and everything turns back to normal?"

"That's our only hope right now." Francis winked. "That means you have six beautiful hours with me~"

_***POW!***_

"I was about to do that."

"Well, you're too late."

"You're mean, Vash."

"Whatever."

"Anyway." Arthur glared at them. "We are at a severe disadvantage here. The majority of the nations that were here doesn't remember their past and will most likely try getting here for Rizal's head. So we'll have to be on guard."

"That's…bluntly obvious." Rizal sighed. "Someone wants my head, so of course we have to be on guard."

"That's not the thing. You don't have your national powers and hence are at a severe disadvantage here. We're the only ones that can face them off." Arthur pointed at all of them. "Even with the powers that you have in that outfit."

"Great…as if this day can't get any worse-"

Instantly one of the walls caved in. Everyone jumped back as a huge suit of armor rose from beyond the dust clouds, and after a few seconds Rizal could feel an arrow barely pierce his cheek. The house instantly healed his wounds as he saw Elizabeta rise from the ashes, holding a bow and arrow and wearing the strangest outfit he had seen in his life.

"Roderich! He's here! Get everyone in!"

Rizal blinked as he heard a loud scream and an Austrian jumping over his head wearing a green tunic _(he canNOT make this up)_ and trying his best to have a blade filled with Filipino blood. He could only look up and see Natalya as she started shooting at him, the Austrian surprisingly blocking all of them…with a sword?

_Oh, right. The building prevents harm to anyone in it._ He blinked. _But blocking bullets? Really?_

"Kuya, come on!" He felt Charice grab his arm. "They're going to distract them here!"

"All right."

The two of them ran out of the building and into the empty hallway, seeing just how big the place had gotten. The original size of the building was nothing compared to this…perhaps the spell had affected the meeting hall as well?

"_**This is getting too crazy!"**_ Charice screamed. **"I mean, how are we going to get out of here?"**

"You're not suggesting actually leaving this place."

"Not that! I mean get to the roof or something!"

"Great. On the off chance on of them _**flies,**_ he can just easily pick me up or something."

"Please! Which one of them flies, anyway?"

Rizal turned to the window and saw with shock Feliciano flying gracefully in the air, surrounded by a spirit that looked like a green eagle. He was smiling and waving from the window, making Charice turn and notice him.

"_**Geez, **__**I WAS JOKING!**__**"**_

They heard a crashing of a window in front of them, and breaked. Charice paused as she saw a figure rise from the smoke: it was Italy Romano, dressed in beautiful noble attire. She found himself fascinated as he leaned back and started gathering a huge blue aura.

"_**Shit!**_ Charice, we have to turn around!"

She hesitated but did so, hearing another window crash from behind and seeing Berwald loom over them. He looked like a king, but his legs were missing…replaced by what looked like the bottom of a chess piece. Charice froze.

"Uhh…any ideas?"

Rizal blinked. He sure wished he had one right now. The only idea he had on him so far was actually seeing what that deck Arthur gave him was going to help at all. He took a deep breath and drew it, hearing Lovino finish his ability and throw it at them. Charice started screaming.

"Charice! Blow off the ceiling!"

"E-_**eh?"**_

"Just do it!"

"O-OK!"

"All right…_**Rope of Life!"**_

She looked up and started shooting above them just as a rope fell to their level. Rizal got Charice to hold onto it as they zoomed into the air, missing all the attacks and having Charice scream all the way up there. He held onto her for dear life as they final arrived on the ceiling.

"This is…this is getting _**crazy!"**_

"You're telling me!" Rizal spat back. "And these guys are after me!"

"But _**why**_ though? Why are they going after you?"

"According to Arthur, it's because I was mentioned casually just before all this started! If the spell was cast any earlier, I'm sure they would be after _**you**_ instead!"

"Kuya…"

They heard a clock tower echo in the background, and they turned toward it in confusion. Odd enough, there was a clock tower right in the middle of the city. It was never there before. Besides, this is an American city! _Why, then, does it look like Big Ben?_

"Wait…it says six thirty on there." Rizal blinked. "Why is the bell tower ringing at the half-hour mark?"

"K-Kuya…listen." Charice turned her head. "The explosions stopped."

"…what the hell?" Rizal turned his head around. "What happened?"

"Did they stop invading?"

They stood there for a few minutes before they heard a quiet hissing noise behind them. They turned their heads and saw a gigantic snake hissing toward them, being followed by a rather charming looking Arthur. Charice backed up.

"Wait a minute…I thought you were on our side!"

"I'm not interested in you, Charice. The only person I want on my side is Rizal. Your blood with be beautiful in the moonlight."

"_**What the hell?"**_

Before anyone could make a move, gunshots echoed out. They turned their heads and saw that the door to the roof had opened, revealing Antonio aiming a gun at Arthur and was signaling for them to hide inside the roof.

"W-why is he helping us?" Rizal spat.

"I don't know, but I'd rather be around perverted Spaniards then snakes right now! I'm going!"

Rizal had no choice. He followed his sister down the stairs and toward the lower lobby, where they saw that the hole that Elizabeta had created was gone, patched up like nothing had happened at all. What was even more ironic was that Elizabeta herself was standing in front of it, turning her head toward them as they froze in the alley.

"Oh, you two are safe! That's good!" She laughed. "Here I thought that Ivan had done some harm to you!"

…_the hell?_

"…Ivan?" Charice blinked. "I'm sorry, weren't _**you**_ just invading this place a few minutes ago?"

"Eh? No, I wasn't. Wait, were you hit in the head or something?" She headed to her. "Uh…no cuts, that's good."

"…uh…thanks?"

Charice turned her head to a rather confused Rizal as they heard footsteps behind them. They turned around and saw Antonio as he sheathed his gun and waved at Charice…the way he always would do it before this happened.

"Ah, Charice! I'm happy that Arthur hadn't gotten you!" He laughed. "That snake is poisonous, you know."

"…I…figured?" Rizal was confused. "W-where're the rest?"

"They're in the lobby. Ludwig was asking where you were. He sounded very worried for you." Elizabeta answered. "Then again, he is the only one of us who actually kept the majority of his real self…"

…

…

…

…

…

"Wait a minute." Charice blinked. _**"WHAT THE **__**HELL**__** IS GOING ON AROUND HERE?"**_

**/=+=/**

**Hungary's VA is ****Michiko Neya****. She's in many of my favorite anime, and I opted for a Satella **_**(Chrono Crusade)**_** / Natalya **_**(Tales of the Abyss)**_** crossover. Hey, if Arthur can do it, why not her? Aren't we all epic that way?**

**Austria's VA is ****Akira Sasanuma****. He's done few roles, but the biggest one he's done is, what else, Link from ****Legend of Zelda****. His first gig with it ****Twilight Princess****, but he has his role in Brawl as well. Think about it: Link can SING~**

**South Italy shares the same VA as his brother: ****Daisuke Namikawa****. He has many sexy roles I could've made him, but in the end I opted for a fusion as well: ****Tales of Graces's**** Richard and **_**(not kidding here)**_** Lucario from ****Pokemon: Mystery of Mew****. You may run in fear now.**

**Sweden's VA is ****Keikou Sakai****. He's one of those background voices as well, but one I remember is Kingman from ****Megaman NT Warrior****. I remember kicking his ass in the game next to it…after he kicked mine about fifteen times.**

**Sooooo…confused yet?**


	7. Trying to Figure it Out

**You confused yet? I sure am, and I'm writing this thing!**

**/=+=/**

With great hesitation, Rizal and Charice entered the dining hall where they had been previously with the others. To their surprise, the other people were there acting just like the others were before. Some of them even seemed to remember them, waving as they came in. Rizal started rubbing his head.

"_What the hell just happened?"_

"_I don't have a clue."_ Charice blinked. _"Our enemies are now our friends?"_

"_This is crazy…"_

Rizal turned his head. Some of the nations that attacked him before are now perfectly normal. A scream echoed through the air and he panicked as he turned around, and finally noticed _(with a sigh)_ that it was only Charice and her Cute-Obsession mode: she had finally found Feliciano.

"Are you OK, Rizal? From what I heard, you were mentally hurt by Arthur's appearance."

"I'll be fi-"

He turned his head and almost froze. It was Ludwig, no doubt about it. But he was perfectly _**normal**_, as of not trying to kill him. Half an hour ago, he was trying to wring his neck out for the sake of his idiot Italian boss. The idiot Italian boss that his sister is now wringing herself- _**does this day even BEGIN to make sense now?**_

"-iiiine…" Rizal blinked. "Uh…"

"W-what?" Ludwig turned his head.

"…okay, forget it. I'm not even going to _**think**_ about beating around the bush here." The Filipino looked at him. "Did you hear a clock tower chime just recently?"

"Um…yes, I think so." He answered. "Just as the others were pushing back the advance of the corrupted nations."

_The same corrupted nations that were actually trying to save us._ "What time is it now?"

"The time?" He rubbed the back of his head. "Well, if the time chimes for every hour, it'll be seven. Why are you asking me?"

"It's six thirty-two. Take a look."

Ludwig looked outside of the window and realized that there was a clock tower in the middle of the city, just ticking six thirty-two. He turned back and saw Rizal as he was staring him down with something else to say. The German/Indian _(he didn't know how to classify him anymore)_ decided that he might as well listen.

"…what's going on, Rizal?"

"You're not going to believe me, I know that much." He stated. "But about five minutes ago, _**you**_ people were swarming this place, and everyone that you're fighting now was trying to save me."

"…what?" Ludwig turned his head. "I don't have a clue what you're talking about."

"Perfect, cause neither do me and my sister over there." Rizal turned to her as she finally found the other Italian to attack. "But it's true. You don't have to believe it, cause neither do we."

"Then how are you going to prove it?" Ludwig asked.

_["I can."]_

Rizal and Ludwig turned their heads to see that Matthew had materialized out of nowhere yet again, startling the German. The only problem was that he materialized next to Charice, who started screaming and running away like the nutjob she truly is. The Filipino couldn't help but stare.

"I thought you needed to feed off someone in order to materialize."

_["I don't have too this time. I think this half hour gave me enough energy to appear whenever I want. Plus, I think you two in these forms can see me even if I don't try to."]_

"But…what are you doing here anyway?" Rizal blinked. "Aren't you with the other side?"

_["That's what I'm trying to ask you! I was watching over Natalya and Ivan attacking Elizabeta and Roderich when the half hour chimed and they just disappeared!"]_

"…just…disappeared?"

_["I started looking for them and then I found you here with these guys."]_ Matthew glared at Ludwig. _["You better not be up to something."]_

"I-I'm not, but…" Ludwig turned to Rizal. "You…are telling the truth."

"Yes I am. Matthew here's the only one completely affected who didn't change sides. Believe him if you want." Rizal turned back to him. "Then again…why didn't you?"

_["Well…when the half hour rang, I felt this strange pounding in my head…but then it went away, so…"]_

"Ve~~~maybe the two of them are related."

Rizal turned his head, wondering how Feliciano got out of Charice's chokehold. Instead, he was entertained by the fact that…it was Kiku. With long black hair, a sword for one hand, a deck in the other…and is that a SHARK on his back? And _**HOW IN THE WORLD**_ did he have the Italian tic?

"Related…how?"

"Duh! Whatever the heck you're talking about, bastard!" Kiku spat. "Half hour switch and everything!"

_This is SO weird talking to you like this…_ Rizal sighed. "Nice…"

'Besides, bitch! You got my deck and I sure as hell didn't give it to you!"

"Oh…right." Rizal looked at it. "Arthur said he took it from you when you attacked them half an hour ago."

"Well, that's something only a bastard without ninja skills would fall for. Which means that _**what you're OBVIOUSLY saying is right!"**_

"W-wait a minute…" Feliciano crawled to the front, finally able to move from Charice's arms. "W-we attacked you?"

"Half an hour ago." Rizal answered. "Nothing too hard and out of the ordinary. I fought off all of you guys."

"_T-that's good…"_ Feliciano mumbled. _"I don't want to hurt you at all…"_

"Awww…" Charice rubbed the back of his head. "You're never going to hurt us, Feli-chaaaan~"

"_Yaaaaaay~"_

"Kiku." Ludwig sighed. "Tell the others about this."

"Fine, fine." Kiku sighed. "But who in the world is telling Roderich? The poor guy can't say shit!"

"Just tell him."

"…but I'm not telling Gilbert."

"I'll tell him, then. Matthew, go and tell whoever he misses."

_["I'll do just that."]_

"_**VOOOOIIII!"**_ Kiku spat. "Are you telling me something?"

"Yeah. Will you please tell the others about this?"

"…whatever."

Kiku sighed and wandered off, tempting the others to follow. Rizal turned his head back to Ludwig, who was turning toward a sleeping body on the ground. He could barely realize that it was Gilbert…sleeping on what looked like a gigantic metal cross thing or something like that.

"Oi. Bruder, wake up."

"…_hhmm…?"_ He looked up. _"Oh…brother…"_

"I need to tell you something. Sit up and let me talk."

"…_fine…"_ He turned his head. _"Oh…hi, kitty…"_

Rizal blinked for a few minutes before pointing to the left and dashing away. He sighed for a few minutes before looking up and seeing a gigantic angel-looking thing hovering in front of him. He was about to say something when she lifted up her finger.

"_**Do not say anything. I know what you're going to tell me."**_

"All right…" He tilted his head. "And you are…?"

"_**Do you recognize me?"**_

"No."

"_**Oh, right…I'm Kumajiro."**_

"…the…uh…Matthew's bear?"

"_**Who's he?"**_

"…nevermind."

**/=+=/**

**Japan's Japanese VA is ****Hiroki Takahashi****. The fun part about this guy is that I opted for a fusion as well…the funnier part was that it's between Superbi Squalo **_**(Hitman Reborn)**_** and Jonouchi **_**(Yu-Gi-Oh!)**_**. That's right. JOEY FREAKING WHEELER. Mixed up with an Italian nutjob with a sword for a left arm, a shark in a box, not to mention that I also added the **_**STEREOTYPICAL ITALIAN "ve" SOUND.**_** Someone shoot me now…or at least, until this is done.**

**Prussia's Japanese VA is ****Atsushi Kousaka****. He shares a voice with Greece, what more do you want?**

**Kumajiro's Japanese VA is ****Ai Iwamura****. She's done…six roles. But one of them is Marineangewoman from ****Digimon****. Strange stuff.**


	8. I Have No Idea What's Going On

**Can anyone explain just what the heck is going on? No? Neither do I.**

**/=+=/**

Rizal saw the new group gather up in the lunch room. He couldn't help but feel tense, but not as bad as the others who were now trying to figure out what the siblings were accusing them of just earlier. Poor Feliciano was cuddling Charice as she cuddled him back…cuddling that surprised him just a little bit.

"Did we…did we seriously hurt you?" Elizabeta leaned in, concerned.

"_**You**_ personally didn't. You were too busy fighting basically everyone at the same time. Your _**ex-husband**_ was having the fun times with me."

"Oh…well then…" She rubbed the back of her head. "He's very sorry for doing so and hopes that you weren't hurt."

"I wasn't, but…" Rizal tilted his head. "Why can't he tell me that himself? Embarrassment?"

"N-no, but…the costume hampers his ability to talk."

"Hampers…how?"

"He can't talk at all."

"Ah. That sucks."

"I know."

Elizabeta and Rizal turned back to Roderich, who was trying desperately to tell Kiku something but only succeeding in a strange grunt sound. Poor Kiku was yelling at him to "cut the crap out", and he had to admit that it was rather entertaining. Gilbert was sleeping next to him, oblivious to the screaming that was oddly Lovino-like…which is odd since Lovino was screaming at Ludwig just a few feet away.

_Geez, this almost looks NORMAL._

"Um…Rizal?"

"Eh? Feli? What's wrong?"

"Did I…did I hurt you in any way?"

"Um…sort of? You did drive a knee in my ribcage and hit me a couple times-"

"_**VEEEEEE!"**_

"But…you know…I did drive you into the ground with a kick to the neck, so it all evens out-"

"_**I'm so sorry Rizal I didn't mean to hurt you I didn't want to god are you going to hit me nooooo don't hit me I'm fragile please please please please please-"**_

…_should've lied, Rizal. Yeah, thanks for telling me_.

Charice cuddled and cooed over him as Rizal shook his head and sat alone, listening to Ludwig as he basically explained to everyone what Rizal had gone through and allowed Charice to dictate their experiences. Of course, she couldn't let go of Feliciano so half of the words were a little muffled. He sighed. What could get worse than this…?

"_**Can't we just KILL the fucking bastards?"**_

_What the hell?_

He turned his head and saw Heracles screaming his head off while wearing huge robes that didn't look like they should be able to make him move. That and he was seriously starting to scare him. But maybe it was because Gilbert had fallen asleep on his leg. _Could be one of the two._

"We're trying to keep people alive, Heracles."

"Why's that? We're never going to protect Rizal if they're all going to be alive to kill him another day!"

"The spell's going to wear off after these hours, Heracles." Rizal stated. "But I'm pretty sure that people are killed now are going to _**stay**_ dead."

"…tch. Pussy."

"Says you."

Heracles scoffed as Rizal decided to drop the entire subject. With good reason too, for five seconds later he was in a screaming match with Kiku, which woke up Gilbert and caused him to wander off _(with five cats following him. Nothing in this world makes sense)_. He sighed.

"So…now what?" Rizal sighed. "We wait here until the next half hour?"

"Hell no we don't!" Charice crawled forward to him. "I saw we look around the building!"

"…why?"

"What if Arthur left something here when he cast the spell?" She stated. "I told the others that if he had left something, then it might help us turn everyone back to normal sooner."

"Sooner as of…?"

"Maybe right now?"

"That's good." He stood up. "What's the plan?"

"Well, we go in duos. I'm coming with you in case the half-hour bell rings before we find anything." Charice pointed behind her. "Ludwig's taking the entire bottom floor, so half of us are going upstairs."

"All right…lead the way?"

"You don't sound happy."

"I was never happy when this day started."

"Point taken."

**/=+=/**

They started looking around the second floor, going through all the doors as Rizal noticed Charice tapping on all of the walls and floors for any type of hidden compartment _(a "zombie bunker", she stated. "All Americans have one!")_. To her dismay, she hadn't seen one.

"Well, what if there's his spell book?" Rizal turned to her as they left one of the rooms. "We can just read his spell or something."

"That's a good plan." Charice pointed upward. "But none of us can cast spells!"

"Well…what I was planning was that if we find the book now, we wait for the half-hour to ring and then we get Arthur to cast the spell again."

"Oh…didn't he mention something about that? I heard about it through the door about him not being able to cast spells or something?"

"I have the assumption that he'll have some form of knowledge, and that'll work."

"And if not?"

"…oh right. Feliciano. He's a mage now!"

"_**OH YEAAAAAAH!**_ We can get Feli-chan to get that!"

_Jesus, help this poor lamb._

"So then…how many rooms until- **GAH!"**

Rizal turned his head and saw that Charice had bumped into Tino, who was wearing a fancy school uniform and was rubbing his forehead where contact was met. And of course, two seconds later she was squeezing any type of life out of his eyes.

"Charice, uh…you're hurting him."

"But he's so _**cuuuuute!**__**"**_

"_U-uh…h-help…me…someone…"_

***WHACK***

"**OW!"**

"That's what you get, ate."

"Thanks, Rizal." He laughed. "I almost lost consciousness for a minute."

"That…would've sucked." Rizal blinked. "Wait, I thought you and Berwald were starting on the other side of the building?"

"We did. I just looked through that whole section."

"In…" Charice looked at her watch. "Five seconds?"

"Yeah! It's an ability that I got! Apparently I can stop time when I want to."

"That's…_**epic."**_ Charice grinned.

"B't y'ur h'r't st'ps w'n y'u d' 't. Y'u sh'ld b' m're c'r'f'l."

"I am, Berwald, I am-"

"_**HOLY CRAP where did he come from? Can he stop time too?"**_

_Oh geez._ "Come on, Charice. Before you have a heart attack yourself."

**/=+=/**

"Well…nothing out of the ordinary on this floor." Charice rubbed the back of her head. "Where else can we possibly start looking?"

"…let's just hope that Ludwig has more luck than we do." Rizal rubbed his chin. "If not a spell book, anything else that can-"

Something started beeping, shocking Rizal. He turned his head and saw Charice as she looked at her watch and turned off the alarm. She scoffed and pouted, whining to herself as she ruffled her own hair in dismay.

"Dammit…I wanted to hang out with Feli-chan before this!"

"…what was that about?"

"Oh, right." Charice pointed at her watch. "We have to make sure that we're ahead of time here, so I timed my watch to go off every half hour."

"Really? The bell tower didn't ring."

"Actually, it rings thirty seconds in advance so we can prepare ourselves."

"In case of a swi-"

The bell tower started ringing seven o' clock, echoing through the hallways. Surprisingly enough, there wasn't anything that sounded like an explosion or an earthquake. Rizal and Charice looked at each other in confusion.

"So…is there anything happening?" She asked.

"I…don't know." Rizal turned back to where they were walking from. "For all we know, maybe nothing happened."

"So…it's every hour or something, or what?"

"…don't talk. My head's starting to hurt."

"From the spell?"

"From the thinking." He sighed. "Whatever. Let's just get to the lobby or something. See who's here."

"Yaaay~! Does that mean I can hang out with Feli-chan more?"

"_Suuure."_

Charice started skipping ahead as Rizal shook his head and trotted off after her. A few seconds later, they noticed Antonio and Lovino coming out of one of the rooms, finishing their search. They turned their heads and caught eye contact with the Filipino…and that's when he noticed it.

"Um…Charice?"

"Yeah?"

"…there was a switch."

"But…Lovi-chan is right here!"

"Um…that's the thing…"

"There they are!" Antonio grinned. "That was easier than I thought!"

"I have first dibs, Antonio." Lovino pulled up his glove.

"_**Crap crap crap! Now what?"**_

"_**Get over here**_, that's a start!"

Charice grabbed Rizal's hand as he lifted up the next card from his deck. Instantly he saw a fuzzball charge toward the window and explode, creating a good hole where they can squeeze in. Rizal dodged a few of Lovino's attacks before they hurtled themselves out of the window, landing safely and charging forward.

"_**NOW **_what do we do?" Charice screamed as they ran. "Did they change places again?"

"That's what half an hour does to you…" Rizal sighed. _"This is getting annoying…"_

**/=+=/**

**Greece's Japanese VA is ****Atsushi Kousaka****. This one is the Daemon Spade character from ****Reborn****, just so you know.**

**Finland's Japanese VA is ****Takahiro Mizushima****. Now here, he's a combination of Rolo **_**(Code Geass)**_** and Romeo **_**(Romeo x Juliet)**_**. Cause…you know, I can. It's a strange combination, but let's go with it, why not?**

**So…who's getting anything?**


	9. A Vow that Will Run Through My Blood

**I guess that's no one, then.**

**/=+=/**

He had no idea how long he was running. All he knew was that his lungs were burning and his breaths were getting so heavy that he felt like they were going to pop. Charice, on the other hand, seemed perfectly fit to run a few more miles and then some. _Damn the fact that I'm human…_

"What the hell are we going to do now?" She screamed. "We have no idea where the hell the others are, and not only that but we're outside the building! You can die out here!"

"_**Thank you for the notice,**_ Captain Obvious." He spat. "Let's just go find Alfred or something!"

"Well, what if he's the enemy this time?"

"…then we're royally screwed for the next half hour, aren't we?"

"_**THANK YOU FOR THE VOTE OF CONFIDENCE, KILLJOY!"**_

"I'm not a killjoy, just reasonable to a damaging fault."

Charice mumbled something to herself as they found themselves at the edge of the forest. After a few minutes, he bumped into what felt like a wall. He looked up and saw the back of Ivan's head just as he was about to turn around. Charice clung onto his sleeve and started shaking.

"_Oh crap oh crap oh crap what if he's an enemy he's going to eat us so horribly what are we going to do nooooooooow?"_

"Ne~~~we were just about to discuss how to rescue you, da?"

"Nice to hear a wave of concern this time." Rizal folded his arms. "It's safe, Charice."

"…you better not eat us."

"Nah…you're a little too sweet for my tastes."

"Aww…thank you- **wait, **_**HOW THE HELL DO YOU THINK I'M SWEET?**__**"**_

"Weeeeeellllll-"

"_**OH **__**COME ON!**__**"**_

**/=+=/**

Ivan led them deep into the woods, where the others were waiting for them. Fortunately, they had reverted to their previous selves and were not out for blood. Thank god, for the dangers out here were much greater than in a house that would've been a great savepoint. Rizal sat at the fireplace in front of Arthur as he looked up.

"So did you survive the half-hour?"

"Eh?"

"You were in the building with the enemies when the bell rang, weren't you?" Arthur tilted his head. "Did they notice you?"

"Um…two did, but we got out of there." Rizal turned his head back. "I'm surprised they didn't follow us."

"Might be because of the previous half-hour." Alfred stated. "They **were** your allies during that time."

"Of course, and I had all the time to cuddle my Feli-chan _wait how do you know that?"_

"You told them about the alliances changing every half-hour. When the bell rang, we suddenly had that thought in our heads." Francis stated with a calm face _(which scared Charice)_. "Connected?"

"So…are you saying that everything we tell our allies, they'll know no matter how many times they switch?" Charice turned her head. "Well, that saves our tongue for repeating ourselves!"

"…that would mean anything we tell the enemies, they'll know." Rizal sighed. _**"Fantastic."**_

"_Is it just me, or is someone up there just laughing at us?"_

"_Charice."_

"_Yeah, Natalya?"_

"_Stop trying to break the fourth wall."_

"_Sorry, sorry."_

"_What are you two talking about?"_

"Nothing, nothing." She waved. "So Iggy-chan! You think your benign skills at your disposal can change everyone back?"

"If I knew how to, I would've done it already. And stop calling me Iggy."

"_**Why?**_ It's cute!"

"Didn't you guys already look in the building?" Magnus asked. "Was there anything?"

"Not a clue. The only thing I found out was that Charice thinks that apparently Americans build panic bunkers for zombie attacks."

"Dude, we _**have **_to! With the pace we're going at, there's no guarantee that it won't happen!"

"…_dear god, you actually believe that…"_

"Not with Kiku's technology and all!"

"_OK, now I understand."_

"So…now what? I'm not up for waiting for the next half hour to see if something happens." Rizal spat.

"Maybe we can find what we're looking for out here?" Peter waved his legs around. "Good choice?"

"That's probably not a bad idea, but not a good one either." Vash looked up. "We're no longer in the building. Any damage Rizal has, he keeps."

"_**So if he gets attacked, he'll die for sure."**_ Erika looked at him. _**"Can you fight?"**_

"With full confidence, yes. With full power, no." Rizal lifted up his arms. "I got tired just running all the way over here."

"Which means that you're now a liability to us." Francis sighed. "Don't worry, we won't kill you…for this half hour, anyway."

"Thanks for your truth." He looked up. "And for your information, I really don't want to be the viability here."

"You can't help it. You're the only pure human here." Arthur leaned forward. "Can you handle fighting all of them for a certain period of time?"

"I've beaten about four of these nations with my bare hands. I can handle it with this setback." Rizal turned his head. "I may have human blood, but I've had my experiences as a man among immortals and I walked away a winner each time. If I lose now, just because they're stronger than I am, then may my soul be damned to suffer from their hands for the next three hundred years."

"_**Don't wish that, kuyaaaa!"**_ Charice leaned forward, shaking him. "How can God save you if you damn yourself?"

"…I meant damn my soul on earthly terms." He stared at her. "Cause I'm pretty sure that you can't condemn yourself to hell unless God wants you there."

"…well, if you do bad things, he'll put you there…"

"Well, if God wants me to go the deepest pits of hell, let him put me there…" Rizal turned to the others. "Tonight, on the day the ghosts wander free."

"You don't know who's listening, da?" Ivan sat next to him.

"I know he is." He pointed upward. "And I have my upmost faith in him."

"…how can…how can you trust something you can't see so blindly?" Arthur looked at him. "You've never seen Him before…so why…?"

"Because I know he exists. There are things that exist that no one has seen before. Your fairies, ghosts…" Rizal leaned back. "All of us. If we think about it, aren't we something that exists despite the fact that no one knows who we really are?"

Everyone looked at each other.

"We're all supposed to be hunks of rock and dirt shaped by political means; there's nothing natural about our creation. No one knows how we came into existence, not even ourselves. We don't question it; we just go with it. So technically, we're on the same fantasy level as fairies…no one bothered to write about us because of how human we are." The boy grinned. "If something as immortal as us can exist, why not Him? And if our people can have faith in us, why can't we do it for Him?"

Everyone sighed. They were told. He leaned back.

"So then…what's the plan for this segment?"

** /=+=/**

**Seriously. Hasn't anyone realized that the countries are technically as supernatural as ghosts and fairies?**


	10. The Pains of Being Sixteen and in Love

**So…did I make a Gary Stu out of Rizal? Sorry~?**

**/=+=/**

They decided to leave to search in groups. For safety reasons, Charice stayed with her brother to scan the entire forest _(in case the next half hour comes quicker than expected…god forbid it does)_. What surprised them was that Ivan willingly volunteered to go with Natalya, and she made no remarks on it, despite the fact that they still had their previous memories. That's when they decided to split.

"_This world is starting to scare me."_

"_You want to point out the obvious next time too? How about the fact that half of the world wants to know what kind of seasoning goes well with human meat?"_

"_Kuya, they're trying to be the next Jason, not the next Hannibal Lector." _Charice looked at him. _"Besides, I think it's either salt or a nice mix of soy sauce and parsley."_

"…_ate."_

"_Yeah?"_

"_Remind me never to take a bath in soy sauce."_

Charice pouted as she dragged her brother along for the long and scary ride. Nonetheless, he resigned himself to follow her. Not like he had a choice, really. Not with people more powerful than him trying to kill him for a false reason, anyway.

And one of them _**had**_ to be Ludwig, huh?

He paused for a minute, looking around the area in case he would find something there. Out of all the things he could be thinking about, it would be him, wouldn't it? There was just something…_**pathetic**_ about thinking about guys when clearly there are psychotic murders with guns and magic spells out for your brains, especially when you're a guy yourself and there's not even an indication that the other man is either gay or going gay for the next guy over. What he would do just to have normal back, even going so far as to go into a random cave and just waiting out the next five hours…

"Kuya? Are you OK?"

"Eh? Yeah, I'm fine." He folded his arms. _Come on, Rizal…concentrate._ "I was just thinking about our next plan."

"Next…plan?"

"In case we don't find anything in the forest."

"True…well, call me crazy, but…" She pointed upward. "I opt for going to the tower."

"Yeah…the bell tower. That's a good choice." Rizal nodded. "But when should we go?"

"Hah?"

"Do we opt for using Ludwig's time slot to go in there? Or would we rather wait that half hour for Alfred's time slot to check it out?" Rizal asked. "Depending on what's up there, there's a chance that perhaps only certain people can pass those doors."

"Oh…I see…one person opens the door, but the other timeslot has the only choice of the next lock…" Charice grinned. "I say we start early. Wait for the next half hour to ring up, and then go for what we got then. Just the two of us, if time calls for it."

Personally, he wanted Ludwig to be there when they checked it out. But that was just the whiny, selfish, rather one-sided part of him that was asking, the part that he'd really wish would shut up right about now for it was really not helping him at all.

"Hey, Charice! Rizal! Find anything yet?"

"Not yet, Vash! How about you two?"

"_**We found nothing here! We already searched our entire area."**_

"Wow, that sucks." Charice turned to Rizal. "I'm telling them our plan."

"Eh? Why?"

"Because whatever our allies now know, our allies later are going to know too!" She winked. "That way, we get to save our tongue!"

"…I…guess we can tell them."

Charice nodded as she went to tell them of what they had planned. Rizal was about to join them when he heard something in the distance.

**/= "Einsamkeit ~still alive and alone~" found on YouTube =/**

_What the heck…?_

For some reason, he felt his feet move toward the source of the sound. It sounded completely out of this world _(which __**MUST**__ mean that this must be a good place to start looking)_. Hopefully, Charice was going to follow him. She wouldn't be that dumb, right?

He stopped for a minute. _Rizal, what are you DOING?_ _This is obviously a trap._

But it was oddly luring…it must be some kind of power or something…

Nonetheless, his hands were on the deck on his side as he went to observe the sound. His footsteps were slow and quiet…almost nonexistent. After a few minutes he found himself hiding behind a huge tree, observing what the sound was.

It was Ludwig.

And he was _**singing.**_

That moment in itself made his brain stop to spin that around for a few seconds. For some reason, this wasn't making him think clearly. Maybe this _**was**_ a power made from this man's clothing. What was the timeslot they were in again…?

He hid quietly behind the tree as he found himself entranced by this song. One familiar word rang out, and he froze. Of course he knew this song! This was the one he sang to himself back in Germany during that one World Meeting! The one where-

_**NO!**__ Swear to God, please don't say it!_

-he fell in love with him.

He let out a small sigh. There was seriously no way around that? He seriously had to reexamine his life once he finally gets out of here. But then again _(just as Charice seemed to justify everything with this)_, he **was** only sixteen…in physical human standards. According to her, there would be something wrong with him if he _**wasn't**_ having something like this happening to him.

Couldn't he just settle with being a freak over this? He'd much rather prefer that.

Still, the sadness that was in that song at that time was still here, making his chest squeeze all the same. Nevermind the fact that right after he heard this he _**("NO, NO NO NO NO NO! WILL NOT BE STATED OPENLY ANYMORE!")**_ and everyone passed out roaring drunk. But still, there was no change with his words…how they were said…like nothing had changed since those days…but…why…?

Something kicked into him, and suddenly he wasn't hiding behind the tree anymore. He was pinned on the ground as the German was wrapping his fingers tightly around his neck. That's when he realized that no one was following him, and that he was now utterly powerless to stop him. He looked up and saw the heartless look in his eyes, nothing like what the song was telling the world.

_So this…this is what Charice was so scared about…_

He did make his attempt to struggle, but every time he did, Ludwig would tighten his grip and cut out more air to his lungs. It really was no use at this point: he knew that Charice was going to find him nonetheless, and it felt like he had magic restraints on his legs. Unless he hears what he wants to hear, then he's done for…

And then he heard it.

The clock tower.

Maybe it was because he was passing out, but he could see strange colors erupting from his own body and spreading out into the world. The rainbow was being mixed in with darkness, and he knew that he was on the verge of passing out. Just before he did, he heard the sound of screaming and someone being whacked, and his neck was freed.

**/=+=/**

**Yeah…guess what happened afterward.**


	11. Ice, Ice, Baby

**So…you already know what happened. And I don't think I'll be able to finish this by Halloween…damn, so much for that.**

**/=+=/**

His mind quickly snapped back into place, as he found himself waking up in the same location that he was in previously. He slowly turned his head and saw with surprise that Charice had indeed followed him, and was now proceeding with bashing Ludwig's head in place with what looked like a gigantic stick with a rock attached to it.

A rather _**sharp**_ rock, mind you.

"_**AWAY WITH YOU, BLASTED DEMON! How **__**dare**__** you harm my brother! **__**NOW YOU MUST DIE!**__**"**_

He never really knew the depth of how _**protective**_ she was. At least he knew now…as well as Ludwig. Poor guy. Rizal got the energy to sit up slowly just as Charice decided that makeshift hammers can't block the satisfaction of bare fists. Fortunately, he was able to stand up and stranglehold her away from him.

"Now now, Charice…what have we learned about killing people?"

"…you're the only one who can do it."

"Because _**I'm**_ the only one who knows where to hide the bodies."

"Oh hush up."

"Anyway…" He looked at Ludwig, noticing that he was just trying to recover right now and not trying to kill him. "Did the clock tower chime yet?"

"About two minutes ago." He heard the German answer, rubbing the back of his head.

"_**THAT'S WHAT YOU **__**GET**__**, BITCH!"**_

"…_fine, you can have the language problems…"_ Rizal turned to Ludwig. "…you all right?"

"No." He looked up. "A whole half hour passed by and I don't have a clue what happened."

"What-"

"_**You had a hand around my brother's **__**neck**__**, so what makes you think that I-"**_

"Hold up, hold up." Rizal sat next to him. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that…I can't remember anything past the last time I saw you two."

"Hah?" Charice blinked. "What do you mean?"

"…the last thing I remember was talking to Feliciano about what we were planning on doing once we get our half-hour with you…" Ludwig turned to Rizal. "And then I don't remember anything past that…except when I came to-"

"Your hand was around my neck." Rizal answered, sighing. "All's forgiven."

"_Not with me."_

"We figured that, Charice. But I forgive you." He leaned back. "But talking to Feliciano…that was back in the meeting hall, right? Do you remember looking through the hallways?"

"…no, actually."

"Hah? Wait, were you _**slacking off?**__** DAMN**_ I didn't think that day would come!"

"I meant that…segments are missing between me and being here."

"So the memories of the time loops are separate." Rizal turned to Charice. "Are we willing to bet that they might be missing more too?"

"_**VOI! WHERE THE **__**FUCK**__** DID YOU GO, CHARICE?"**_

"**HAH?** We're back here with Ludwig!"

"_**HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET BACK HERE?"**_

"_**STOP SCREAMING AND **__**JUST GET THE HELL OVER HERE**__**!"**_

"…Charice knows how to adapt, doesn't she?"

"_It's one of the only good traits about her."_

They stared at her as Kiku and a rather sleepy-headed Gilbert stumbled their way through the grass _(much to Kiku's displeasure)_ and toward the three of them. Rizal really couldn't get his head around the fact that he had a ring in the shape of a freaking _**shark**_…never going to click.

"Why the hell are you alone, Ludwig?" Kiku spat at him. "Aren't **you** the one who suggested that we go in groups or something?"

Yep. Never going to click.

"Feliciano went off ahead of me." He answered. "To make sure that no one from the other side was following us."

"…_might be talking about Alfred."_ Charice rubbed her chin. _"I heard him plan about that too…"_

"Che…well, get him over here so we can get the others!" Kiku shook his finger this time. "We have a fucking _**tower**_ to climb!"

"_**Yeah!**_ We have to get to the clock tower and get to the to- wait, why do you know that?"

"Eh? You told me just a few seconds ago!"

"…noooo…I told _**Erika and Vash**_ that…not you two!"

"_Maybe it had something to do with…*yawn*…the timeslots?"_ Gilbert rubbed his eyelids. _"What you tell certain people gets crossed over…?"_

"Maybe." Rizal stood up. "That makes sense, concerning the fact that all our allies know what we tell them no matter who they are at the moment."

"True…" Charice nodded. "So…do you know the process that we planned out?"

"…planned out…?" Kiku turned his head. "You haven't told me _**shit**_ about that!"

"_**I TOLD **__**ERIKA AND VASH**__** THAT, SO YOU SHOULD KNOW!**_ I mean, I told them right before the clock tower rang!"

"Those thirty seconds?"

"Yeah, actually." Charice shook her wrists. "Right after my watch beeped, I rushed my explanation!"

"So maybe you weren't such a fucking good explainer."

"_**Don't start with me."**_

"Or maybe it's something else?" Rizal looked up. "The memory loss is extending farther than just what you're doing when you're the enemy."

Everyone stared at Rizal for a few minutes before they saw Charice shiver for a few minutes, rubbing her arms and hearing her teeth chatter like they can go on forever.

"The hell is wrong with you, woman?"

"…can't you feel it? _**IT'S GODDAMN COLD FOR SOME REASON!"**_

"…_I kinda feel it too…"_ Gilbert rubbed his arms while rubbing his eyelids. _"That way…"_

"…that's where…that's where Feli is!"

Ludwig quickly dashed toward that location, forcing the others to follow. Once they passed all the bushes, they saw with horror at least five different ice crystals with Ivan and Natalya standing in the middle of them, admiring their work. They turned around and saw the shocked faces.

"Voi…I don't think that their costumes have this ability."

"It must be Feliciano." Rizal stated. "If he was with Ludwig with the last timeslot, this trap was set up for me."

"Hm…you four must be really enjoying the icicle show, aren't you?" Ivan laughed. "Don't be scared…come on in and enjoy it with us!"

"…too cold…" Charice shivered. "Wish I had thicker leggings…"

Rizal noticed that there was something in one of the icicles, so he leaned closer to see what it was. He got closer, and closer…and closer…before reeling back in shock. Silently, the image of a frozen Antonio came into view, looking like he was trying to dodge something. He turned his head and saw that all the icicles had someone in them: Lovino, Tino, Berwald…Feliciano…

"_**F-Feli!"**_ Ludwig screamed.

"Son of a bitch!" Kiku loaded his gun. "Do I have to choke a bitch today?"

"Not today." Natalya lifted up her knives. "He's coming with us."

Rizal's eyes flashed back to Ludwig, who was openly worried about Feliciano's condition. He looked back at the crystal holding his frightened his body and began to judge the distance: it was the farthest one back, blocked by both of them. If Kiku was going to go for the aggressive path, he might be able to get around them-

A scream echoed the air, and he turned his head in shock to see Charice charge toward them with guns blazing and a murderous look on her face. Kiku clapped in happiness before doing the same thing, bringing out _**a freaking shark**_ to slash through the two of them. Rizal decided to make his move and headed to the side. He turned his head and saw Gilbert following him.

"Do something reasonable and break all the ice coffins!" He screamed.

"…_I can do that…"_

Rizal could only shake his head and watch as Gilbert turned and started smashing open the first one next to him. He looked up and locked onto his target: Feliciano Vargas, his face plastered with fear. His mouth was wide open, and from his angle, he looked like he was in much pain…

"You might want to stop wasting your time." Ivan chuckled. "They might not have time to start breathing again~"

The look on Ludwig's face was nothing compared to Charice. Ludwig did look like he was ready to kick some ass, even a bit murderous, but Charice looked like a _**freaking PSYCHO**_. He didn't even think she was aiming half the time. Was her Cute-Obsession Syndrome really this dangerous at Level 03? Maybe he should stop now and see if she can do some good enough damage-

"…_I'm getting annoyed now…"_

Gilbert lowered his cross and started stomping the ground two times. Instantly, bursts of lightning started shooting onto the ground, hitting about anything. Rizal felt his arm being struck before noticing that some of them were being successful at destroying the ice blocks. He watched with surprise as Feliciano's body was free from the prison and collapsed onto the ground, unmoving. Rizal stopped in his tracks and decided to go for the attack. Conveniently enough, Ivan was heading right for him.

"_**Rizal!"**_

He pulled out a card and instantly saw a huge barrier appear before them, reflecting his attack back onto Natalya. Rizal blinked for a few minutes, finding that oddly convenient. He sighed.

"You might want to run now." He stated. "Tell the others that we're heading to the clock tower. Make your move now."

The two of them looked at each other for a few minutes before heading off _(much to Kiku's displeasure)_. Rizal turned his head and saw that Charice and Ludwig had ran to Feliciano's side, making sure that he was alright. He took his time and instead headed off to Tino, who was breaking out of it.

"Does anything hurt?" He asked him.

"…no…just really cold, that's all." Tino stood up, dusting off some ice. "T-the others…"

"Berwald seems to be doing all right. He's right behind you."

"_**Gah!**_ D-Don't do that."

"S'rry."

Rizal then turned around and headed toward Lovino, who was stumbling around for a few minutes while Antonio was being held up by a rather tired Gilbert. He didn't need help standing up, which was good.

"Nothing frozen?"

"I'll be fine." Lovino glared at him. "No thanks to you."

"Don't go blaming me for this. I was just being dragged along by Charice over there."

They both turned their heads to see that Ludwig and Charice had started to become a little frantic. Feliciano hadn't woken up yet, and by the looks of things wasn't going to anytime soon. He couldn't help but feel a little jealous at how Ludwig's voice was almost breaking just because of this, but he quickly pushed that to the back of his mind. _Angsting now isn't going to solve anyone's problems._

"_F-Feli-chan…? __**F-Feli-chan!"**_ Charice started shaking him. "H-how bad is he? The others are awake, right?"

"Just about…" Tino leaned to him. "Is he…?"

"_**No! **_H-he should be fine…Feliciano should be fine!" Charice sobbed. "Right, Lud-sama? He'll be all right?"

Rizal froze. Charice never uses real names unless it was formal reasons or she trusted them so much that she would say their real name with quaint endurance. After a few seconds, he heard a low moan and saw Charice's eyes lit up, and then he watched as Feliciano began to twitch and open his eyes.

"…_ah…C-Charice…?"_

"…oh thank go-"

She clung onto him for dear life, making him whimper before holding her back. Rizal couldn't help but wonder if this was just another branch of Cute-Obsession Syndrome that he hadn't seen yet. Level 02, Version 2.0…or was this just the beginning of Level 04? Oh dear god, that was terrifying.

"…Charice, let him breathe."


	12. Going Up

**SPEEEEEEEDDDDD UPPPDDAAATTTEEEE!**

**/=+=/**

The group found themselves in front of the tower, staring at just how high it was. It was almost like Big Ben's size _(if Francis was here, there'd be a joke mentioned around now)_. Rizal couldn't help but shiver at how big the place was, wondering just what the heck might be up there. He heard Heracles complain.

"So what the hell are we doing here?"

"Maybe we can unravel the magic up here or something!" Charice pointed out. "This isn't part of the city so…"

"Oh, that makes sense." Elizabeta rubbed her chin. "Anything that wasn't here before would most certainly be a choice worth looking into."

"Besides, don't the bells ring to signal the timeslot switch?" Tino looked at Rizal. "That has to be worth looking into."

Roderich grunted with a nod. It was rather funny to watch.

"Th'n th'r's ' ch'nce th't th' b'll w'll r'ng 'nd w' ch'nge."

"The…bell…?" Rizal looked up. "Yeah, that's true. There is no way we can climb up these stairs in half an hour."

"All right, then I suggest a plan. Charice, you're going to have to stay in close proximity with the rest of us." Ludwig pointed out. "When her watch starts beeping, then she and Rizal will run off ahead. The rest of us will stay behind."

"…ve, how will _**that**_ work?" Kiku spat. "We're still in the same fucking building."

"It will at least give them a thirty second lead in case we end up staying here after the timeskip." He stated. "Besides, there's a good chance that only Rizal will be able to figure out what's upstairs."

"That would suck if he couldn't." Kiku folded his arms.

"…but he has to…" Feliciano shivered. "Otherwise, we would have to start our search all over again…"

"The answer has to be up here then…" Rizal sighed, going to the door. "I'm leading, if no one wants to take it-"

Roderich placed a hand in front of his face, stopping him in his tracks. He walked up to the door and slid it open, revealing a huge room that casted a long shadow into the spiral staircase in the middle of the foyer. He pulled out a bow and arrow and shot it through the area, hearing it crash on the other side before slamming the door shut. Something that sounded like an explosion rang out before he quietly opened the door again, seeing half the place burning up with smolders and dust.

"…_that was loud…"_ Gilbert rubbed his eyes.

"…that was scary, Charice…"

He turned his head and realized that not once had Charice let loose her hold on him since what had happened before. It _**was**_ a Level 04 scenario. Maybe the spells had something to do with it. But whatever, Roderich was already inside the building. The others slowly followed suit as they started ascending the staircase.

"Charice won't let Feli go." Ludwig blinked.

"She's just worried about him, that's all." Rizal assured him. "I don't know why though…she's never this worried about him before."

"…yeah…it's strange…"

"Well, I think that it's because her Cute-Obsession Syndrome is evolving into a Level 04." He looked up. "You might have to watch over her."

"In this case, I'm more worried about you than her."

Rizal couldn't help but blush, but then again he could purely understand about what he was talking about. He looked up and saw that Roderich had stopped, shooting another arrow and triggering another trap in front of them _(making Antonio laugh)_. Rizal sighed and saw that he was trying to shoot an arrow at a target on the other side of the wall, but his arrows weren't even getting to the other side.

"Have you ever considered using a damn gun?" Kiku complained.

"But you're out of bullets, Kiku!" Antonio said through his laughter. "Most of us are!"

"_**VOI!**__** DON'T BRING THAT UP, YOU PRICK! I DON'T WANT TO BE FORCED TO SHOOT YOU!"**_

"_Give me that option, why don't you?"_ Rizal couldn't help but mutter.

"Hey, I got guns~!" Charice flashed open her cape. "Where am I aiming?"

Finally, she was able to let Feliciano go to try and aim at the target. For some reason, her aim began to suck. And then it sucked even more. The Italian quietly took his chance and headed next to Rizal, muttering something in broken Italian.

"…_R-Rizal…"_

"Eh? Something wrong?"

"…_um…I wanted to ask you something…"_

"…weird time to ask, but sure."

"…_did…did Charice do anything when I was frozen?"_

"Besides go bloodshot insane and wasted half her bullets? Or is that what you want?"

"_S-she went crazy?"_

"I think she was crying too…nothing Ludwig was also doing, though…"

Rizal blinked for a few minutes, for he could've sworn that he saw Feliciano blushing. The sound of breaking glass broke their concentration, and he turned his head to see that Charice had _**finally**_ got the target. Something seemed to trigger the next trap a few feet away, and Roderich continued upward.

"Hey, Charice!"

"Yeah, kuya?"

"How come Roderich knows what he's doing?"

"I think it's because of his costume! He _**is**_ the Hero of Time, after all!"

…_still not helping, Charice._

They found themselves standing on what looked like their next floor, surrounded by open windows and a staircase in front of them. Roderich looked around for a few minutes before pulling a bomb _**out of nowhere**_ _(geez, what the hell Roderich)_ and throwing it to the middle of the floor. The explosion afterward sent off a dozen other explosions and what sounded like something being set on fire before everything settled with something that barely looked like a floor.

"…that was unsettling." Elizabeta sighed.

Rizal sighed before he walked up ahead. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary before he heard something whizzing in front of him. He turned his head and saw that there were multiple arrows flying in the air around him. He flipped around a bunch of them before realizing that he was about to get into close contact with one of them. It exploded about a few seconds from his face.

"Are you all right?"

"Eh?" He looked up to see a rather worried Ludwig. "Y-yeah…I guess there are pressure plates here too."

"_**NO SHIT, ASSHOLE!"**_ Kiku started screaming. "What gave _**that**_ away?"

"Now now, I don't think bombs can trigger pressure points!" Antonio waved his hands. "We're just going to have to deal with them!"

"Or MOST of them, since Rizal already triggered half of them."

"_Thanks, Kiku."_

He was about to walk forward again when he heard a slight boom. Blinking, he barely saw the rather rabid face of a very hungry Ivan in front of him. He lifted his arm, only to feel his saliva barely jump on his coat and hearing the jacket hiss and burn. He flipped backward and almost fell onto what looked like a snake.

_Oh shit._ He lifted up his hand. "Dark Magician!"

His magic spells blasted all of them away just as the rest of the party began to jump through the walls. Kiku grinned.

"_**Booyah! Party time!"**_ He lifted up his guns. "Let's do this!"

"…_maaaan…*yawn*…so much for that."_ Gilbert sighed.

Rizal grabbed Charice's hand and dragged her forward as a heated brawl started charging up between both sides. He looked up and barely saw Matthew and Kumajiro waving them down _(where the hell were THEY, this entire time?)_.

"_This way!"_ He could barely hear.

"_**Go! Follow them!"**_ Ludwig screamed. "There's no telling how long this battle's going to take!"

"_**Feli-!"**_ Charice was shaking.

"Will you be all right?" Rizal asked. He couldn't help but worry.

"We'll be fine! Just go!"

The truth was, he didn't want to go. This was way too dangerous for any of them to do alone and Rizal wanted nothing more than to go yo-yo blazing and mess up the place. But then again, he was only human and Charice was almost out of ammo. Besides, Matthew and Kumajiro seem to be the only other ones unaffected.

"…Charice, we have to go."

"But-!"

"It's fine! Once the half-hour bell rings, then the sides are going to switch again!"

Charice resigned herself to that, and the four of them dashed up the staircase. After a few seconds, Charice stared at Matthew.

"Where the heck were **you** this whole time?" She spat.

"_I was with you guys!"_ He answered, confused. _"None of them could see me, though…so I just stayed silent…"_

"Well, I can see you!"

"_Must be something unique about this place…"_

"It's always THIS PLACE…or THAT PLACE…can't we just have a _**time zone**_ or something?"

Her watch started beeping, and she looked at her watch to turn off the alarm. Right afterwards, the bell tower started to ring. They all swayed as the bell literally made the tower shake

"_**JESUS!"**_ Charice blinked. "How long did I try to turn off the watch?"

"No, that's not it…" Rizal's eyes widened.

"_**Yes…it looks like time is faster in this realm."**_ Kumajiro blinked. _**"When we were here, it was almost seven fifteen."**_

"But it's seven thirty one no-" Charice froze. "We better hurry up."

"_**WAAAAIIIIITTTT WHAT ABOUT USSSSSS?"**_

They looked down and saw that Alfred and his group were running up the stairs, this hour's allies. Rizal sighed and hoped that the others were OK _(even if they were at the stage of trying to kill him)_. He looked and saw that many of them still had the same wounds as they had in battle.

"No one's hurt?" Rizal asked.

"No one that matters, of course." Ivan laughed. "Though I'm sorry for burning through your jacket, Rizal."

"It's fine…I guess…" He sighed. "But let's talk on the run."

**/=+=/**

**God Bless Speed Updates.**


	13. As Unlucky as the Number Itself

**Faster Faster~!**

**/=+=/**

"Dang, seriously?"

"Yeah, that's how it was! You were kinda threatening, Ivan!"

"I know that much~" Ivan laughed.

"He's _**always**_ threatening, dude!" Alfred laughed as they ran up. "You didn't know that, Charice?"

"_**He's ALWAYS threatening!"**_ She stated.

"Really? He's not that scary." Rizal blinked, following Francis.

"You serious?" Alfred stared at him.

"He's more childish than anything else." Rizal answered. "Besides, he's right there."

"I'm not annoyed by it." Ivan ran next to him. "Fear runs the world, doesn't it?"

"_All right…"_ He sighed.

"Where the heck are we going now?" Magnus looked up. "You know where this goes?"

"…the top of the staircase?" Francis grinned.

Magnus mumbled something to himself as Rizal looked at the rather worried look on his sister's face. He took a glance at her for a few minutes as they finally stopped on another level for Francis and Arthur to look for traps. He tapped her shoulder, and she looked up with fear.

"..what's wrong?"

"My watch." She pointed at it. "Look at the second hand."

"…" Rizal blinked. "It's…moving faster."

"Time is moving faster in this place…and I was watching this when we were moving up, and it turns out that…" Charice looked up. "It's moving a second faster for each level that we're going up."

"So…that would mean that soon the sides are going to start switching faster…" He looked up as well. "Did you tell anyone?"

"I just discovered this when we stopped."

"…interesting…"

"The level's free." Arthur retracted his snake. "Let's go."

"I move first!" Peter waved his toy hammer.

He skipped freely, motioning for the others to follow him. The others dashed after him and ascended the staircase. Rizal turned his head and noticed Natalya was running to his side, trying to catch up with Ivan. He decided that if he was going to tell someone, he might as well start here…

"Natalya."

"Something wrong?" She actually sounded reasonable.

"Charice was watching her watch as we headed up…" He stated. "Time's moving faster the more we head up."

"…that would mean that we'll be your enemies faster than before."

"Yeah…" Rizal nodded. "I don't know if I can tell the others fast enough, so…"

"I'll be sure to tell the others during the next level."

Rizal nodded as he passed her and headed toward Francis' level as he went to the third level. He looked outside and saw just how high this tower was going. It was freaking him out, to say the least. This time, it was Matthew and Lukas that searched the room for any traps. They turned around to signal the all clear button.

"We can go forward." Charice sighed.

"_**We should hurry before the clock rings."**_ Kumajiro noted.

"Yeah…" Yao pushed Rizal forward. "Let's go."

Rizal and Charice went first, running through the room before hearing a familiar beep. She looked at her watch before turning to the others behind them in shock. Arthur heard the beeping and stopped the others from heading on with them.

"Go!" He called to them. "Before the clock rings!"

The two of them dashed ahead, knowing full well that they were close to ending this entire messed-up whatever-the-hell was going on. Fifteen steps later the clock began to ring, shaking the ground and freaking the two of them out. Charice looked at her watch for a second and froze.

"What the heck?" She looked at it, turning to Rizal. "The clock says it's eight o' five…eight o' _**six?"**_

"A minute a second?" Rizal pushed her forward. "All right, whatever's running this place is getting desperate. Let's go!"

They ran ahead, noticing that they were running faster in this realm. Every thirty seconds, they could literally hear Charice's watch beeping and the clock ringing faster and faster. The both of them were seriously getting worried, and Rizal's lungs were burning from just how fast they were running. He really wanted his nation status back.

"…**WHOA!"**

The both of them felt like they ran into a cotton wall, and saw with surprise that everything was surrounded by a strange cushioned purple aura. Charice looked at her watch and gasped, gesturing Rizal to look at it as well.

"Look…the watch is going slower…!" She blinked. "…what the heck is this?"

"…a break place, I think…" Rizal took a deep breath. "Which is definitely what we need right now."

"I know…I need a long breath and a cup of water…" Charice shook her head. "And some time to sort this all out…"

"…this didn't sink in yet?"

"Not all of it, no." She answered. "I only understand people switching sides every half hour."

"That's…all you need to know, ate."

"Not really…I'm trying to figure out why their knowledge changes every half hour."

"Huh?"

"I mean…everything we tell our allies, they will always know…even when the sides switch. Our allies and foes switch but their minds stay the same…" Charice turned her head.

"It's there to save our tongues, I guess." Rizal sighed. "Save us some time and let us run farther."

"Yeah…I guess…" Charice sighed. _**"Maaaan…**_and I was so looking forward to the party."

"Why?"

"Well…okay, I didn't want to tell you this on the off chance you might _**flip over yourself**_, but…I got a call from Feli-chan the week before."

"You did? What did he want?"

"I don't know. He just called, asking if I was going or not. I said yes, and…then it got weird."

"Like what?"

"He started…stammering and stuff…" Charice leaned forward. "I think he was possessed or something."

"…Stammering."

"Yeah! Like he didn't know how to say anything correctly!" She sighed. "Even though I _**know**_ he can…"

Rizal stared at her as started pondering about the whole thing in the break time that they had. She started walking back and forth, muttering to herself, tapped on the floor for a few minutes…

"_**OH COME ON!"**_

"**GAH!"**

"You don't see it. You _**really**_ can't see it, can you?"

"…see what?"

"_Geez…and here I thought you girls were __EXPERTS_ at this…" Rizal sighed. "Have you seen Feliciano up to this point?"

"All the time!"

"Riiiight…well, I have. Have you noticed that he's gotten shyer around you?"

"No. He's perfectly fine around me now!"

"…yes, now. I mean _**before**_ now. Like yesterday, back when there was such thing as NORMAL."

"…no."

"…oh, true. You were too busy breaking every bone in his body to notice." Rizal rubbed his forehead. "You know he asked me a strange question a few days ago."

"And you didn't tell me this because…?"

"He asked me not to. Besides, the question was rather typical of him."

"What was it?"

"Um…_what were the exact words…_right. **'What do you think would go well with a romantic dinner and a beautiful moonrise?'"**

"Um…w-what did you answer with?"

"Easy. I said salt."

…

"What, it made sense to me. Most Italian dishes taste better with salt."

"That's not what I mean! Why didn't you tell me about this?"

"Because I've seen him hit on chicks before, and according to what I've been hearing he's brought them on dates before." He looked up. "Look, the only reason why I think it's associated with you is because you mentioned that he called you and that he's been a little quieter."

"…uh…y-you don't think it's because he hates me, right?"

"…is _**that**_ the conclusion that you're seriously coming up with?"

"Well…I have another conclusion, but…there's no way that can be right!"

"Since when?"

"Since _**forever!**_ I mean, he's definitely playing for the other team, if you get what I'm saying! So my other conclusion can't be right at all!"

"Since when was he playing for the other team?"

"Eh?"

"You _**do**_ realize that the majority of the nations here are possibly straight, right?"

"…bull crap. We all know what France is!"

"France _**is**_ something?"

"…you know what I mean."

"Whatever. Look, just because a guy is clingy onto another doesn't make them a couple, all right? Take Antonio and Lovino, for instance."

"Antonio is totally gay for Lovino."

"Lovino's straight."

…

…

…

…

…

…

"**What."**

"Yeah. He told me that."

"And you bought it?"

"Well, he said he was interested in a girl he met, so I took his word with gold, but really. Is that so surprising?"

"…"

"Besides, many of them can be like me, right? Liking both girls and boys?"

Was he seriously talking about something like this at a moment like this? Here they were, in the middle of a tower that is somehow out for some Filipino blood, and yet for some reason he was talking about relationships with his older sister who should _**clearly**_ have more knowledge then he should have at this point.

"…no way."

"I'm pretty sure Feliciano wouldn't hit on girls if he didn't have a sense of liking to them."

"But…he's _**Italian…"**_

"Both guys and girls, Charice. I'm pretty sure the religious roots are the reasons why he doesn't hit on men."

"…noooo…"

"Fine. Don't believe me. We'll argue about this later." He stood up. "This break is over. What's the time?"

"Um…" She looked at the clock. "Holy crap! How in the world did we get to ten ten?"

"Duh, the time is faster. Which means we better hurry up." Rizal pushed her forward. "Before the others get here."

Charice was twitching as they ran through the time area, feeling the rather cushiony restraint free them and the aura vanish around their bodies. She looked down and realized that time was speeding up again _(like a bad movie take)_ and dashed up the tower side again. The minute they reached the top of the staircase, the bell on Charice's watch was ringing out again.

"Holy crap…" She looked at her watch. "Time's moving normally now…ten fifty nine."

"Which gives us an hour to look for what we need to look for here…" Rizal looked around. "So high over the city…"

"Uh…is it just me, or is this higher than the tower that we've been seeing half the time?" She looked out the window. "Jesus Christ, we're at the same level as with the mountain side!"

"Well that totally sucks." He turned around. "Just stay away from the windows and look at the walls or something."

"_**WHERE ARE THE WALLS? THERE'RE ONLY ARCHWAYS AND PILLARS DICTATING THIS! Besides, where the heck is the damn **__**BELL?**__**"**_

He froze, turning back to a rather confused Charice. He looked around for a few minutes before looking upwards, finally noticing something strange: a huge light blue crystal in the middle of the room above them. Charice quickly took note of that as Rizal turned back to her level.

"You want to try destroying it, or should I?"

"Whatever floats your boat."

He sighed as his fingers lightly skimmed the deck in his pocket when suddenly he felt a bullet barely graze between them. They looked up as they saw a rather murderous Antonio aiming a really huge gun at them, ready to shoot at a moment's notice. She, of course, started to panic.

"Oh freaking crap! Why did the enemy have to show up _**now?**_ Please tell me that the allies are nearby…"

Rizal turned around just as he saw a snake slither up the side of the building toward their direction. At the head was Arthur, holding a lightly glowing arrow aimed right for Rizal's face. Above them, the crystal was pounding with aura. Rizal could feel the energy flowing through the room.

"…Charice…I don't think we have a back-up plan he-"

Another click of the gun caught his attention. Slowly, he turned his head and realized that she was aiming one of her guns right into his temple, the same murderous look on her face as the rest of them. From the corner of his eyes, he could see everyone from all sides of the playing field rushing up around them, ready to slit his throat at a moment's notice. His gaze kept itself at his sister, not worrying about the others.

"…ate…"

"Let us play with destiny…" She grinned. "Besides, hasn't your life been horrible enough already?"

"…you're too predictable."

He quickly flipped her over to the ground, rendering her helpless as the others began to draw their blades and weapons. He took a long sigh and looked at his sister as she slowly drifted off to unconsciousness.

"…seriously? That alone knocks you out? You're worse than me." He laughed with a sigh. "At least I don't have to worry about personally hurting you."

He stood up and pulled out his yo-yos, judging all of the people in the room. Rizal never really understood why big groups of people would wait until their target was ready to strike in order to attack themselves, but today he was surprisingly grateful for that. A flash of red streaked his golden eyes.

"So…who's first?"

**/=+=/**

**Hopefully, the ending comes tomorrow…and doesn't suck.**


	14. Our Melodrama

For the first time in his life, he was grateful he had a random deck of useless trading cards at his side. As the enemies tried to launch attacks at him, the surprising allies that were two dragons and a magician seemed to fend them off quite well. He was very grateful that Arthur gave him a deck to run around with, for he would most certainly be dead…what with the magic spells and the guns running around. How many times did his clothes get horribly ripped? How many times did he have to resort to using a healing spell? God bless Kiku for throwing in a Healing Wind or two in here…

"Voi! The bastard won't stay down!"

"How about I take a try here?"

Everyone jumped out of the way as Lovino stepped forward, his blade coming out of his cape and charging toward Rizal. He took a deep breath and drew his card, and instantly Celestial Sword – Eatos came into his hand. He figured that it might as well do and threw on a one-on-one duel with the princely character, dodging bullets that his magician couldn't control.

"What's wrong?" Lovino looked a little peeved. "You're not going to hurt me?"

"That's the problem: even if I try to, I can't. The sword won't let me." He dodged another spell and got his leg nicked by another bullet. _**"This one**_, on the other hand, can."

Another card flew into the air, and two swords landed in his hand and slashed through Lovino. With the third blade in his mouth, he threw it at the crystal above them, hearing it crackle with energy. Lovino was about to say something when he saw that blood was coming from his arms. Then the pain came.

"It's a little subtle, but it works out fine." Rizal turned to him. "That's one down…fifty _**billion **_to go."

"_Rizal! Thank god I can contact you!"_

He turned his head and saw Matthew as he materialized out of nowhere, taking in the energy that was leaking from the crystal. No one had to say anything as Matthew dived right into Lovino's body, and he watched as the fingers twitched and he slowly rose to his feet, purple eyes flashing back to him.

"You doing all right, Matthew?"

"_**This will work well enough…"**_ He shook his head. _**"He's unconscious, so there won't be resistance anytime soon…"**_

"Need a healing spell?"

"_**I got that handled…FIRST AID!"**_

A light spell rained down on the both of them, instantly healing all their wounds. Before they could breathe, another gunshot echoed out. Francis had just dealt with his Blue Eyes, and now he's after Rizal. He turned to Matthew, who grinned.

"How many monsters can you get out?"

"Five total."

"You handle Francis."

"With _**pleasure."**_

Rizal quickly summoned a Sky Paladin and the Herald of Creation as he charged toward the French man, dodging the bullets as fast as he could. If he knew anything, it was that ordinary men could in fact dodge bullets if they were athletic enough, and _**god knows**_ Rizal fit that category. He jumped over his head and roundhouse kicked him, barely dodging the snake that was behind him.

"God, you have no idea how I wanted to kick your ass." Rizal chuckled.

Francis said nothing as he started shooting toward him, missing for some strange reason. The back of his newly spiritual senses seemed to take the form of Francis screaming at him to get down and all that stuff. _They must be snapping out of it…either that or I'm really going insane._

He looked up and realized that he had stopped for a minute, aiming one of his arms at him. Rizal stared at him for a minute before seeing that same arm turn into a huge gun, aiming right at him. He strained his brain for a few minutes, trying to remember just what was the story behind the costume. All he could remember was that he was a goofball who was secretly really strong and only acted like a jerk just so people can ease up around him.

Oh, and he has the power in one of his arms to destroy entire cities.

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Oh crap.

His mind quickly dug through the situation, knowing that he can't stop the gun from charging and everyone else can't come here in time to either block it or otherwise. No spell card can try to block a gun that can destroy civilizations…so he might as well try the oldest trick in the book…

He dashed forward, running as fast as he could, and just when Francis was about to fire, he kicked his arm upward until the gun fired itself right into the crystal. The explosion left all of them in a huge cloud of dust, and Francis on his back.

"Geez! The French really _**doesn't**_ know what they're doing half the time, don't they?" He joked, standing up. "At least it's-"

He looked up.

"…no way…the crystal's still standing…" He shook his head. "Oh great…so much for that. Now what?"

He turned his head and realized that he wasn't hearing some complaining from Francis anymore _(maybe he's losing his abilities?)_. But instead of that, he stood up and cleaned off the gun-arm-thing that was at his side, turning back into a regular arm.

"Thanks. Being manipulated really sucks."

"…back to normal?"

"Yeah. Of course, that crystal has to do something about it."

"No kidding."

Rizal turned his head and realized that despite the crystal still standing, a few of the people around them were snapping out of it. Heck, he even saw Lovino snapping out of it and yelling for Matthew to get the heck out of his body, which he gladly does. Fortunately, his sister seems to be among them.

"The battle isn't over yet, Rizal." Francis grinned. "I've heard from Antonio that you were one of his greatest enemies, no?"

"Well, I shouldn't disappoint then." He pulled out his blades. "I'm going after the crystal."

"We'll handle the rest of them here."

He shook his head and jumped upward, slashing hard into the crystal and getting the cracks deeper and deeper until half of it had fallen apart. He grinned: this was definitely something that will be over soon.

***BAM!***

A wave of pain ran through his body, and he looked down in shock to see that someone had shot him right through the stomach. With the last of his energy, he slashed right through the rest of the crystal, seeing it shatter into crystal dust. Rizal flipped in the air and barely saw who shot him before the mist clouded over him.

It was Ludwig.

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"Gah!"

"Oi, kuya! Don't tell me you tripped!"

He blinked in confusion. He was face down in the dirt, and perfectly fine. Rizal slowly stood up as he saw his sister staring at him like he was the craziest person in the world _(compared to the others, that is hard to do)_, and to his surprise his eyes were starting to itch again. He rubbed his head.

"Sorry, there was something here." He lied. "W-what time is it, anyway?"

"Eh? It's only five-thirty two! Come on, we're going to the party whether you like it or not!"

_So she really doesn't remember…guess none of them will, then._ He sighed. _And now I have to relive Halloween all over aga-_

He froze, another wave of pain exceeding from his stomach. Charice turned around as he unzipped his jacket, revealing that the gunshot that he got was still there, bleeding all over his white shirt. She screamed bloody murder.

"_I-i-i-is that a…__**GUNSHOT?"**_

"…um…y-yeah…" Rizal sighed. He's dealt with these before. Thank god for calm scenarios. "Look, we're at the building already…I'll just ask for some warm water and a few blankets or two…and tweezers."

"Hey, don't be that calm, bastard! You just got shot _**out of nowhere!**__**"**_

"I've taken out gunshots out of my own body before…now hurry up before I bleed to death."

The pain that he felt when he was first shot was fortunately diminished. He must've had his nation strength returned to him, which was working in the long run. He was about to head forward when he saw a strange image running right toward him with a panicked look on his face. And guess who it was.

"Rizal! Are you all right?"

"Um…Ludwig?" He tried to stay calm. "Yeah…um, totally fine. I just need tweezers and some hot water, really."

"Are you-?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Calm down."

Surprisingly enough, he did. The others around them were extremely shocked at what happened, and were quick to bend to Rizal's demands _(did he really think that he should be shot more often? That was horrible)_. Ten long minutes later, the bullet was out and he had the gauze placed in…except on his back.

"Can you get that place down here, Ludwig…?" He said, trying to hide the excitement _(out of that? Really? He really was a sixteen year old hormonal teenager)_. "The gauze and tape is on the counter over there."

He didn't hesitate in doing so. Rizal waited in strange anticipation, knowing that any moment now his fingers were going to touch his skin at a sensitive moment in his life _(being shot DOES count, you know)_. Before he knew it, he felt the fingers on his back. They were warm and gentle, pushing only in places that weren't too painful, and yet it was still making his head spin.

"_This doesn't hurt, doesn't it?"_

"…no." Rizal turned his head. "You…you remember, don't you?"

"…"

"I'm not mad, Germany. You were brainwashed."

"…does it still hurt?"

"No, not anymore. I've had a lot worse than this, and Antonio can account for that-"

And yes, he was being backhugged.

God save his manly soul.

He turned his head and barely saw the worried look on his face, registering _**absolutely nothing**_. Rizal had to make sure that Ludwig's hand did not go over his heart cause god forbid he hears a vital organ in his body work so hard that it might die all on its own, and god knows that he shouldn't have more blood running out of his still open chest wound. Was he seriously cursing right now?

"…did you know that Feliciano likes my sister?"

"…you approve of that?"

"I'm more worried about him than her, really." He laughed. "Now come on and stop the melodrama. It stopped when the crystal was broken, and I want to see how she handles it."

"…you're seriously all right though, right?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

And life carried on, with Rizal heading forward toward a Halloween party that will always end with someone drunk or tossed out a window…

_**Francis.**_

**/=+=/**

**Celestial Sword – Eatos**** has an effect that allows the equipped monster to attack all the opponent's monsters on the field, but cannot attack directly to the opponent's Life Points.**

**And that is the end of the fanfic! Hope you guys can handle my craziness that was this Halloween fanfic, and look to the other ones as…well, this wasn't really my best work. In other news, I MIGHT FINALLY UPDATE MY MANUAL FANFIC!**


	15. OMAKE: Dating is Hard These Days

**And finally, after a month of the entire story being crazy, Feli-chan finally asks Charice out!**

**For some reason, I'm writing them in Himaruya's comic format. In other words, think of each segment as its own comic with an overlying arc. It'll make more sense that way…from what I can understand.**

**/=+=/**

When they went to the party, Rizal saw with surprise that Feliciano was hiding himself from the rest of the crowd, fixing his magician uniform and mumbling something to himself as Rizal headed over to him.

"You do realize that dates usually start when you _**ask**_ them, right?"

"_**VEEEEE!"**_ He could've sworn that he flew at least fifteen feet. At least that's how far he ran back to him. "D-d-d-d-d-d-don't s-s-s-s-s-scare me l-l-l-l-l-l-like that!"

"And how do I do that? Shake you or bait you with pasta?"

"…_yes…"_

He wasn't expecting that "yes". And he really wasn't expecting Feliciano to be serious in his answer. He really should've, now that Rizal thought about it. He decided to drop that topic.

"So…who're you asking out?"

"_N-no one…"_ He answered. He did sound a little cute. _"No one of…i-importance…"_

"…Feli, if you want to ask my sister out, that's fine."

"_**VEEEEEE!"**_ Again, fifteen feet. Rizal couldn't help but wonder if he was having breathing issues if he went that high. _"H-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-"_

"If I'm protecting my sister, I'll notice these things." He grinned. "Besides, I think she would've said yes even if I banned it."

"…y-you approve?"

"Out of everyone in this psychiatric circus, I trust you the most with ate." He laughed. "If anything, I should be worried about you."

"Ve?"

"…_you have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"_

"V-ve?"

_God, I fear for you._

**/=+=/**

Of course, Charice said yes to the small "date". Rizal took it beside himself to go to Feliciano's room that day _(to prepare him for the mass chaos that might end up happening today)_ and was surprised to find the door unlocked. He slowly pushed it open and saw with some surprise that there was no one inside. He blinked.

_Sheesh…if he was going to sleep in Ludwig's room, he would've thought on locking the do-_

"_**VEEEEEEEE! I OVERSLEPT, I OVERSLEPT!"**_

Five seconds later, someone came barreling into the room and started grabbing everything that was oddly lying out on the bed already. Rizal decided not to say anything as the image started flying around, undressing and dressing faster than the speed of…well, running from the enemy. It was around that time that he finally realized that there was someone else in the room.

"_**VEEEEEEEEEE!**_ H-how did you get in before me?"

"…you left the door unlocked." Rizal stared at him. "I'm just here to help."

"O-o-o-o-o-okay!"

He ignored all that as Rizal stared at him yet again. If he knew _**anything**_ about Feliciano past him being Charice's squeeze toy and running away from anyone that had anything sharp or containing gunpowder, it was that he loved to hit on women; he and his brother did it all the time. Yet somehow someone _**(ELIZABETA)**_ translated that to "secretly being gay for Ludwig". Sure, that would work for Francis, but…Feliciano? From the back of his mind, he found himself imagining if the rather kind and adorable Italian was anything like Francis…

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"V-veee! R-Rizal, there's steam coming out of your ears!"

"_Does. Not. Compute."_

"_**VEEEEEE!"**_

**/=+=/**

"OK, I'm just here to explain a few things so that you don't get your heart broken by Charice…_or torn out by her, whatever comes first."_

"Um…OK…"

"Now, when are you two supposed to meet up?"

"Eight in the morning in front of my room…but she's going to be here at nine."

"Nine?"

"She's always a little late." He smiled. "I assumed that she was going to be an hour at the most, so I gave myself time."

"Oh…I see…um…where are you two going to?"

"This nice restaurant that I saw a few feet back. It's rather cheap, so she can eat everything and not ruin her wallet! After that we're going to the fair that's here today!"

"That place? What, to eat again?"

"Most likely, but usually to go on the rides. Charice really likes going on the Ferris wheel and all the scary rides…_I don't know why, though…"_

"She likes the thrill of it all. Meetings got boring to her."

"Vee…but she doesn't get bored if we sit together…we always talk about what the others are doing and what she was planning on doing that day…"

"Makes sense, I guess. Are you two going shopping later?"

"Not really…Charice doesn't like shopping for clothes for some reason…and even then, she never wants to wear anything blue! Vee…it's too bad because she would've looked really nice in jeans…"

Rizal stared at him, oddly impressed. Feliciano just pinned down everything that he was going to warn him about. Maybe there is hope for him yet…unless he was missing one more crucial form of evidence…most likely he was…

"Feliciano."

"Ve?"

"Did you lock the door behind you?"

"Um…yes."

"…it's unlocked."

"**Ve?"**

"…from the outside, no less."

"_**VEEEEEEE!"**_

"You sure you locked the door?"

"…_y-yes…"_ He whimpered. _"W-why can't Charice ever just come in a room when I'm in it…?"_

"Because it's more _**FUN**_ with the surprise!"

"_**VEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"**_

"…I'm just going to…leave…right now…"

And Rizal did so, leaving the poor Italian with the now clingy Filipina. He turned his head only once and saw the smiling Charice nuzzle the back of his head, and for some reason he couldn't help but coo in happiness.

Which made the grip a little tighter.

**/=+=/**

"Wow…this place looks really fancy, Feli-chan!"

"I-it is…but it's really cheap, too!" He answered. "And it has a lot of pasta!"

"Thinking about yourself again, huh?"

"Ve…"

"Geez, you eat so much pasta…where do the calories _**go**_ in that body of yours?"

"I-I'm not sure…"

"…I sure wish I had that kind of body…"

Feliciano stared at her for a few seconds before following the waitress down to a small table for just the two of them. They were next to the window, so they were able to see what was outside…and it was a really nice view, now that he thought about it. But then again, he was too busy staring at Charice, a scrunched up look on her face. He couldn't help but giggle; he knew what that meant.

"Charice, this place is really cheap! You can order both of them if you want!"

"Really?"

"I'm going to pay, so don't worry."

Her eyes began to shine before she started skimming all over the menu, most likely going to buy every single thing that she sees as remotely appealing. She looked so happy when he mentioned that he was going to pay for everything. That smile that she constantly has made him giggle and smile in happiness. Nevermind the fact that she was ordering so many things that she would've dried up his wallet nonetheless. He ordered something small and then turned back to the smiling woman in front of him.

"You usually order a lot, Feli-chan."

"Ve~~~we're going to eat a lot more where we're going afterwards." He smiled. "So I want to save my money."

"That's all right. You can share some of my food~"

"Ve~~~thank you…"

"So…how are you and D-" She paused. Public place. "You and Ludwig."

"The both of us are fine, Charice." He answered with a giggle. "He's still iffy about me sharing a bed with him, but I think he's gotten over it."

"Awww…so cute…" She laughed. "You must _**really**_ like him, Feli-chan~!"

"Ve~~~he's my friend, after all~"

"No, I mean _**like**_ like him."

"Ve? What do you mean? He's my friend."

"Like…do you love him?"

It was then that he realized what she meant. His face instantly turned red and he looked away with a dark red blush on his face. It was rather embarrassing to hear his crush talk about him being gay. Nonetheless, that alone made her squeak with joy.

"You're so cute, Feli-chan~!"

"_V-ve…"_ He blushed even more. _"But…I don't like Ludwig like that…"_

"You don't have to admit that to me, you know! You have to tell him, duh!"

"But…I don't like boys. I like girls."

"…_**hah?"**_

"I'm straight, Charice."

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"No, Charice! You must resist the urge to drown in your miso soup!"

"_**VEEEE!**_ Kiku, what are you doing here?"

**/=+=/**

The shock was a little too much for Charice to handle at first, but she was able to recover once they went to the fair. All of the shooting games were more than worthy of trying to grab her attention, and it was only after realizing that she couldn't hit anything that she started raging extremely and forgetting what Feliciano had said to her.

After a while, the sun was setting and the two of them finally opted to go into the Ferris Wheel. Feliciano needed to be coaxed into getting into the bin, but it was only when Charice held his hand that he finally walked into the small bin and rose upward into the sky. She was cuddling him the entire time that he was shivering.

"Don't worry…Charice will be here to protect you~"

"…_ve…t-thank you…"_

"…so, who's your type?"

"Ve?"

"Who's your type of girl? I can do some matchmaking if you want!" She laughed. "We don't have that many girls, but I can give you a calling card~"

"…ve…" Feliciano blushed. "I already like someone…"

"_**Really?**_ Who is it?"

"…well…she's really pretty…"

"Oh, you mean Hungary?"

"No…she's extremely sweet…"

"Ukraine?"

"…no…she's a little clingy-"

"_**BELARUS?**_ Wow, I never knew!"

"N-no, no no…" Feliciano turned to Charice. "She's very sweet and kind…very normal."

"_**Liechtenstein**_ is normal!" She grinned. "But I wouldn't be surprised~!"

"…you're wrong…it's not any one of them…" He was blushing at this point. He had hit on girls before, but never fell in love quite this deep before…with the exception of Holy Rome, of course. "She's…the most beautiful woman that I had ever seen in my life…and I never met her before that."

The look on Charice's face made him realize that she definitely realized who he was talking about. But she immediately scrunched up again, definitely not going to believe what she had concluded. She shook her head again and smiled.

"Taiwan? Vietnam?" She tilted her head. "They're very beautiful."

Feliciano knew that she wasn't going to believe herself at all. With a quiet nod and a light blush, he hesitantly leaned forward and kissed her cheeks, feeling her tense up before allowing the second one to sink in. He backed up with a light blush, hiding his face in his fingertips and looking cuter than before.

"…why me?" Charice leaned back, confused. "I'm not pretty…"

"Charice…"

"…fine, compared to the others. Taiwan has the pretty figure, Vietnam has the pretty hair, Ukraine has the…biggest rack out there…I digress, and-"

"They don't mean anything to me…compared to you…" He smiled. "You mean more to me than them."

"Why? Our bosses don't even talk to each other."

"Because you really care for me…you always give me lots of hugs and kisses, coos and cuddles…" He blushed and started shimmying like a shy little girl. "I was scared of them at first, but after a while…I wanted those hugs and kisses…I wanted you to cuddle me more and tell me that you'll only focus on me…"

"…Feli-chan…"

"Ve…I like it when you call me that…"

"Then I should call you that more often."

"…Yes, you should." Feliciano blushed before looking up. "Um…_kiss me…? Please…?"_

She didn't have to hesitate as she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek, hearing him _"vee"_ in response before feeling his fingertips on her cheek and lightly skimming his lips on hers. He sounded so mature when he was with a woman, but he looked so cute when he blushed.

"…_I'm not going to hurt you, all right Feli-chan?"_

"…_ve…all right…"_ He chuckled. _"I'll do my best to protect you too…"_

"That's good." She grinned. "Now how about that ice cream cone you promised me~?"

"Ve…of course~" He smiled.

**/=+=/**

**And this is the end of perhaps of the only ItaPiri pairing in the world…or in this username, for this manner.**


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